Feelings that shouldn't be
by Living Arrow
Summary: Living her dream in New-York, Anzu never expected to see Kaiba again, but when she does, he's colder than ever. Anzu is determined to help him, can she pierce the walls around his heart, can she even stand what awaits behind them? KxA
1. Coincidental encounter

Hi everyone, I'm really sorry for the long wait in putting out my new story, especially after saying I'd put in out two weeks ago. Truth be told, when I said that I would update after my exam week I forgot that I had two other exams two week later that were even more important than the three ones I had. Considering that Anatomy is my biggest class and that I had my final exam in behaviorism I really had to study.

Tristan: Will I play an important role in this story?

Arrow:...........................................Actually, I wonder if I'll even need you. I know Yugi will play some part later which remains me, I kinda said at one point that I would try and make Yami appear more in my next story.....well sorry but as much as I like him, he's most likely gone to the afterlife or something like that.

OK, before we start, I actually did my homework before starting this story and checked out the details and such to reduce mistakes to a minimum (Sorry but I'm not talking about grammatical mistake, though I will do my best). That being said, I don't own Yu-gi-oh (can someone please tell me why everyone says that) However all character in this fic that are not from yu-gi-oh are from my imagination and therefore belong to me. The only real place in this story should be Juilliard (and yes I did some research concerning this too), and so all other places that are not from Yu-gi-oh are from me and if they look like any existing place you may know it is pure coincidence (or laziness from my part)

Constructive review are welcome and wanted, I will try to update as quickly as I humanly can but I am still busy and might reconsider my decision to stay an active writer if I don't receive anything on your part after all the efforts I'm putting in this while I could and should probably be doing something else. I really need some encouragement for this as it will most likely not be a short story and I plan on trying to make it my best one. I really like writing and I'm hoping for good support for this story.

Anyway, you know what? I guess I'll be able to write more from now on, really, I'm starting to get the beat and it's actually less stressful and less work than college. With that let's start.

As you can guess, this will be once again a Seto/Anzu fic, for now I don't really plan on other couples but that might happen eventually but since the story is mostly taking place in New-York I'm afraid the others won't be playing a big part in it.

Chapter one: Coincidental encounter.

Anzu sighed as she looked at the luxurious hotel in front of her, the Casa Loma hotel, one of the most prestigious hotel of New-York. Only the richest out of the richest could afford to stay in this place, spending only one night in the cheapest room would cost Anzu a paycheck for at least three weeks. But one day, when she would be our of school and famous she was definitely going to come back here for a night or two and get pampered like a princess. _Yea, that would be nice._ She thought, giggling to herself as she made her way around the building and entered by the staff door.

As soon as she got inside she was surrounded by dozens of other employees frantically running everywhere...Yes, today was one of those horribly busy days making you wish you were hit by a bus on your way to work. Anzu opened her locker and grabbed her uniform before going to a dressing room. As she dressed, she couldn't help but think about Joey and just what he would do to see her in her chambermaid uniform. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. At the very least, the uniform wasn't whorish or anything. It was a simple uniform: a long sleeved black dress that went down a little below her knees with a white apron that tied in her back with a large bow, a white headband, black tights and little black shoes...which were even less comfortable than they looked.

Satisfied with her look, Anzu left the dressing room and started her work, silently humming to herself. Now was the easy part of her job: cleaning rooms after clients departure and preparing them for the new ones. That sounded easy enough when Anzu first applied for the job, even enjoyable for someone who liked, or at the very least, didn't mind cleaning. But in all truth it wasn't the case, no matter how much you enjoy something, there is a limit to the number of times you can do it and still enjoy it. And after almost four months of cleaning and preparing at least twenty rooms per days, six days per week, Anzu was well passed that limit.

But if only it was just that. Almost every day she would find a room totally trashed or traces of a heated night everywhere, that made her glad she wasn't the one actually cleaning the sheets but now she knew she would never be able to sleep in hotel drapes, no matter how clean and comfortable they looked. Then there was the stealing, a lot of stealing actually. Anzu couldn't understand why people who could afford to pay over 2000 dollar for a single night would steal cheap shampoo and mini soap bars but it still happened all the time.

But those times felt like heaven when compared to when she had to interact with those people. Sure, some where really nice and gave more than generous tips but most mainly ignored her or looked at her like she was a leach or something, though she didn't mind those either. However some where just downright unbearable. She saw just about everything in the two summers she worked here, from the old perverted man trying to bed her to the ten years old kid who's call her every two minutes for just about anything and trashed the room just to laugh at her while she cleaned it, without forgetting the fat lady who kept insulting her and accuse her of everything she could think of. The worst part was, she couldn't defend herself, the client was always right and she knew if she dared to say anything, no matter how big the injustice, she would lose her job.

Why was she working here in the first place? Truth be told, there was a simple reason, the pay was worth it and tips were more than substantial. She would never make as much money in a fast food or any other job she could be qualified to do. And beside it was only for summer, it was her last week, in five days she would start her third year of study at Juilliard and she couldn't wait. After finishing High school two years ago, she traveled all the way to America to try out for Juilliard, she still had troubles believing that she got in on her first try. She loved it more than she ever thought possible and was eager to start yet another year but at the same time she felt sad for not being able to go and visit her friends and family this year again. She simply couldn't afford to go, she was barely managing to get by so traveling to Japan wasn't possible, therefore she hadn't seen her friends or family in the last two years and she really missed them.

"Hey! Anzu! Are you done? It's about time to head to the kitchen."

Anzu turned around and smiled when she saw Kaytleen coming her way. "Yea, that was the last one." She answered, she hadn't realized four hours had passed since she started working. The two girls walked together toward the staffroom. Kaytleen was Anzu's roommate and one of her best friends here in America, it was thanks to her that she got this job too, her cousin was reasonable of the human resources or something like that. She blond woman was studying to be a doctor, she was studious and Anzu was amazed at all the stuff she knew, she was a blunt and rational woman, she didn't always take other's feelings into consideration before speaking but her advices where always valuable when you could ignore her forwardness. When they arrived, the two girls changed in another uniform: a slightly shorter black skirt with a white blouse and a sleeveless black vest over it. Today she had to work as a waitress too, she didn't normally do this, but today was special.

There was this huge charity ball taking place, it was a prestigious even held only once a year where the richest persons around the planet came for an evening of entertainment and gave money on various charitable organization. Of course it was always good for the image and a good chance to discuss business with people from all over the world but Anzu wouldn't complain about it, they did give large amount of money last year. You could say the entire hotel had been rented for this single night and since there was a full 5 services dinner for over 300 persons, they needed a lot more waitress than usual. Once both girls were ready, they joined with the other waitresses and waited for instructions.

Soon the head cook arrived and they started sorting things out and preparing everything they would need for the evening. The next hour or so passed quickly as they prepared the first service and divided themselves into team and decided what section of the dinning hall each team would be responsible of, soon it was time to start serving the first course. Like he always did before such important events, the head cook assembled everyone for his oh so inspiring speech.

"Ok Listen up. This even is the most important of the year, anyone who screw this up will pay dearly. I will not stand for anything short of perfection." They all nodded and quickly grabbed the salad bowls before forming a line in front of the door, as the door finally opened, Anzu and her two teammates for the evening swiftly walked through the tables to reach their assigned section. Things started out smoothly as they served the first three tables without any incident, Anzu had the feeling tonight wouldn't be so bad after all. However as they reached the last table someone called out to her. "Anzu?"

Anzu looked at the source of the somewhat familiar voice and found herself staring in two blue-grayish eyes, eyes she would recognize anywhere. "Mokuba?" She asked in disbelief, on her right was sitting a teen around sixteen, he still had long black hair but his features were sharper than she remembered, though his face looked more mature, his eyes still had a childish glint in them. It was the younger Kaiba alright...which could only mean...

"Glad to see you finally understood where your place was."

Anzu turned her head to look at her left, sure enough there was the last person she ever wanted to see again: Seto Kaiba in all his bastardness. "It's so nice to see you too Kaiba." She forced a smile on her face, trying her best to ignore his mocking smirk as she put the salad in front of him. "I have to go." She said apologetically to the younger of the two, she would be in trouble if her boss saw her slacking and she truth be told she didn't want to stay anywhere near Kaiba right now.

Mokuba smiled. "I understand, I'll see you later then."

* * *

Anzu sighed as she sad down in the staffroom with the other waitresses, they had to wait until everyone was finished with the first course before going back out there and cleaning everything before the main one. But Anzu wasn't looking forward to it, she's had to face Kaiba again and worst, she would have to clean his dishes and serve him his other courses.

"What's wrong Anzu?"

Anzu forced on a smile as Kaytleen sat down next to her. "Oh nothing, except that I had to serve his food the his majesty of the pain in the ass Seto Kaiba."

Kaytleen smiled. "Oh." Kaiba had been a topic of discussion at one point when Kay first talked about the job to Anzu, she wanted to make sure the brown haired dancer wouldn't to all clingy or beat the crap out of the demanding and arrogant costumers. "I can switch team with you if you want. I don't mind."

Anzu smiled, it was a tempting offer as knew Kaytleen had a tendency to be unaffected by a lot of things but... "I can't, if I do he'll see it as running away from my part and he'll make this even worst."

"You're putting to much thoughts into this Anzu, you haven't seen him in over two years, what are the chances you'll see him again. Beside, what does he cares anyway?"

Anzu sighed. "Oh you don't know him like I do, he always hated me and my friends and he'll take any opportunity he has to rub it in my face, if I switch place with you I'll be telling him that he actually got to me."

"Well if you change your mind." Kaytleen said as she stood up. "You know where to find me. Now come on, it's time to start working again."

* * *

The rest of the meal went relatively well for Anzu, considering she had to wait on Kaiba things could have been a lot worst. The young CEO actually kept silent whenever she was near, of course it probably wouldn't look good if he passed the evening harassing a waitress and she guessed that was the reason for his silence. However, she could feel his gaze on her whenever she was near his table, that stare made her feel increasingly uncomfortable, as if he was looking directly inside of her, she could practically hear him mock her from his stare. She did her best to ignore him ans show him she didn't care, anyway like Kay said, she wouldn't see him again after that...unless he stayed at the hotel for the night? She shock her head, she doubted that was the case, she always knew Kaiba was somewhere in New-York all this time, she just never expected to meet him, after all it was such a big city, no doubt he would go back to wherever he lived once the evening was over...though she wouldn't put it past him to stay just to make fun of her.

Anzu sat tiredly on a chair in the dressing room, serving dinner had been long and Kaiba's stare hadn't helped. The evening was only just beginning for all those rich snob but her shift was done and she couldn't wait to get home and take a long hot bath, her back was killing her from all the walking and she couldn't feel her feet anymore. She bent down to remove the small black shoes as Kaytleen entered the dressing room.

"Guess who I saw." She said, sitting down next to the young dancer to remove her own shoes.

"Who?" Anzu asked.

"Matt." Kaytleen answered with a sympathetic smile. "Poor guy looked ready to kill himself."

"Can't blame him." Anzu said, changing out of the uniform and putting her normal clothes on. "Being in this kind of place with his father really is though on him." Once they were both ready they walked out of the dressing room with the firm intention to spending the rest of the evening laying around and wasting time.

"Anzu?"

Both girls looked behind them and Anzu smiled when she saw the young teen. "Mokuba!" Now that she wasn't working anymore, nothing stopped her from running to him and throw her arms around him in a tight hug. "I missed you so much." She let go of him and looked at him up and down. "Just look at you, you look-"

"Incredibly sexy, I know." He cut her off with a smirk so much like his older brother before laughing. "But what about you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm working here, as you saw, but it's just a summer job." She answered.

Mokuba's eyes lit up. "That's right, Yugi told me you were accepted in Juilliard. And I never had the chance to congratulate you."

"It's ok Mokuba. Oh, I almost forgot, this is Kaytleen, my roommate and one of my best friends here in America." She said, presenting her friend.

Mokuba greeted her with a huge smile before giving Anzu an apologetic look. "I'm sorry but I have to head back before Seto realizes I'm gone." He hesitated a little before speaking again. "I apologize for the way he acted toward you, time didn't made him any better unfortunately." He looked down slightly.

Anzu was surprised to hear Mokuba say something even slightly bad about his brother, but then again he was a teen now, old enough to understand his brother wasn't as perfect as he pictured him as a kid. "It's ok, I wasn't expecting him to, beside you don't have to apologize for him."

Mokuba smiled up at her. "I'll call you ok? I'd definitely like to have a decent talk with you before going back to Japan."

"Sure!" Anzu said, giving him one last hug before the younger Kaiba walked back inside the dining room and disappeared from her view.

* * *

The next morning Anzu still had to go to work, but she wasn't complaining, she needed the money and beside she only had three days of work left before school started. She was humming happily to herself as she walked down the hall on the third floor toward the next room she had to clean when a door behind her opened.

"Hey you!"

Anzu turned around to look at the young woman who called her out. "Yes?" she asked politely, the woman was young, around Anzu's age with long blond hair and brown eyes, she was tall and extremely thin. Anzu instantly recognized her as Milly Stellar, one of the most popular supermodel in America at the moment.

"I need you to make my bed." She said harshly.

Anzu ignored the tone of voice and walked back to the room. "Of course." She said kindly, thought her in mind she wondered what was wrong with these people, unable to do their own bed at their age. She skillfully made the bed and turned back to look at the other woman. "Will that be all?"

"It's not even." The young model answered.

"Pardon me?"

"The bed." The blond woman answered impatiently, as if she was speaking to a deficient child. "The covers are longer on the left side.

Anzu frowned slightly as she took a few steps back to stare at the bed, sure enough, the covers on the left side was going one inch lower than on the right side, but who in their right mind noticed this sort of things and better yet, actually cared? As she made her way back to the bed to 'fix' it, she suddenly became aware of the look the other woman was giving her, she could feel her stare burn holes on her back and held back a shudder, what was wrong with this woman?

"Now the right side is lower."

It took all of Anzu's willpower not to kill the woman as she made her fix the bed three more time before she was satisfied. "Anything else?" Anzu asked with the most fake smile she ever had to pull, something told her the woman was far from done and she was in for it.

"The bathroom is dirty, you can't expect me to take my morning bath is that disgusting room, clean it."

Anzu walked to the bathroom to check it out, as she expected there was nothing wrong with it, hell, it was so shiny she wouldn't mind eating directly on the floor. This time Anzu sighed, wondering what she did to deserve this.

* * *

"I swear she was absolutely horrible, she was a witch." Anzu complained later in the evening. Milly, the model who called her to do her bed, made her work none stop for over five hours, complaining about imaginary things. "I swear she made me clean the freaking bath three times, she would have asked me to paint the wall a different color if she could. And she wouldn't stop glaring at me like I did something terribly awful to her, it was creepy."

Matthew laughed softly as he skillfully mixed various ingredients in a bowl. "Did you?"

Anzu frowned, she would remember it if she had done anything to make someone that angry at her. "Of course not, I never even saw her before."

"Then maybe she was dumped or something like that yesterday and she needed to take it out on someone, people like her who gets to be one the top of the world quickly and without effort often start thinking they are over everyone, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just tell yourself that in three months she'll be a nobody again, it will make you feel better." Matt answered, butting some chocolate looking mixture on a cooking pan. "Why did you let her treat you like that anyway? I mean if you stick up to Seto Kaiba then why not to her."

Anzu sighed. "Different circumstances, if I had said anything I would get fired and have to find another job next summer, you should know my boss would never do anything to displease one of his precious rich costumer. I get paid too much to let a model sick in the head make me lose it."

Matt smiled sympathetically, he sure knew what she was talking about. "Here." He handed her the spoon he used to mix his recipe.

Anzu smiled at the fudge covered spoon and quickly licked it off like a 5 years old. "Tastes even better each time you make it. You're so much more useful to have around than Kay."

"I heard that!" Kaytleen replied from the living room.

Anzu laughed softly as she looked up at Matt, she could tell he was upset by something, she knew he was cooking to keep his mind occupied, he always did that. Beside his large green eyes were like opened windows and she could see he neglected his appearance this morning, which was definitely not like him. "By the way, how did things go for you at the dinner yesterday." She asked, knowing that talking about it would make him feel better.

Matt's bright eyes darkened considerable as he sat down on the chair in front of Anzu, his perfectly straight black hair hiding part of his face. "Worst than anything I actually expected. He kept insulting me, complaining about every little thing I did wrong, He even said I was a shame at some point." As he said the last part, tears formed in his eyes as he fidgeted nervously with the piercings on his lower lip, which Anzu knew to be a fake, his father would kill him if he ever dared to get a real one.

Anzu couldn't help but smile sympathetically a the sight, she had never seen Matt's father in person, but she knew enough about him from Matt and the Media to know the old man would disown his soon and never speak to him again if he ever learned the truth about his only soon. With his straightened black hairs with blond locks, the fake piercing and the clothing, Matt looked nothing like the son of one of the most successful businessman of America.

"I wish he could just see me as I am and stop trying to make me someone else." Matt said. "But I guess that's not happening anytime soon." He stood up to go and check on his fudge, indicating he was done talking about it.

Anzu wished she could do more to help him, but she learned long ago that she simply couldn't solve everyone's problems, all she could do was hope things would work out eventually and support her friend. She was brought out of her thoughts when her cell phone rang, taking it out she looked at the ID and frowned when she didn't recognize it before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey Anzu, it's Mokuba."

Anzu smiled upon hearing the teens voice. "Hi Mokuba. How are you?"

"Good, you still up for hanging out? I have to leave really soon."

Anzu nodded, even though Mokuba couldn't see her. "Of course I do, no way I'm letting you leave like that."

Mokuba laughed. "Alright, is tomorrow ok with you?" Mokuba asked.

Anzu thought about it for a few seconds before answering. "Sure, I have to work until four but after that I'm free."

She could almost see the smile on Mokuba's face as he answered. "Perfect, I'll come and pick you up then. I gotta go, bye!"

Let's see...wow almost 4000 words, I didn't expect it would be this long, though it's true that my new writing book has bigger pages lolll. Anyway, I know there wasn't much Anzu/Seto interaction in this chapter but this is what you call setting the stage. Beside it wouldn't be interesting if at the beginning of the story they already where deep in love with one another and hooked up together at the beginning of the story. But don't worry, I expect they will be together around......maybe the middle of the story, but they will see a lot of each other until then. (more than they want to actually, poor Kaiba, he had no idea what I have in story for him.)

As for update. Once again I'm sorry but I really had those two important exam. But, I realized that even here I don't need to study like an idiot. I should update more often starting now, let's say, I promise not to keep you waiting more than two weeks and I will do my best to try and update once per week. (depending on how much you support me of course lollll)

As for Kay and Matt, well I needed some support character since the guy are not there (but we will see them eventually) You could say those too are part of me (yea, picking out different parts of myself makes it easier to make new character. I really like them though, Kay is the rational part of me and Matt is......well Matt is actually the woman in me as weird as that sound. Now if you wonder why the woman in me is a man, well let's just say I enjoy being special and I like Matt (and in my mind he's so freaking sexy I'd rape him)

Matt: That is wrong on so many levels...

Next chapter: We'll get to see some things that go trough our favorite CEO's mind and you'll get to see more of this older and extremely good looking version of Mokuba (I'd rape him too....what, there are six time more girls than boys at my school) And will we find out what is wrong with that weird supermodel?...........(everyone holds breath) .....no, that's for later. (keep in mind that depending on how I write things might turn out differently than I predict)

Please review!


	2. Uninterested

Gee, I'll have to buy new pens soon....it's the second one I empty in the last month while writing my story (and it was my kitty pen T_T) Note that I never ran out of ink in a pen before.....usually I just end up broking it in pieces because I keep playing with them in my bored time at school (and I get bored a lot)

I expected a few more reviews for the last chapter considering how many reviews I had on my other stories, for now I'll suppose it will get better as I keep going.

So....I apologize for the wait, I actually had the chapter wrote on paper last weekend and was too lazy to write it on the computer right away. This week was just horrible, I spent all afternoon and evening after school working on various projects....

Chapter two: Uninterested.

Kaiba held back a sigh as he sat down in his assigned seat at the small round table. Why was he even here again? Oh yea, because his stupid board members kept telling him it would be good for his public image to go to this stupid charity ball, they weren't happy when he skipped it last year. Actually, it caused quite a scandal in the business world and a lot of his business associates were angry that he didn't show up at an event his late step-father put so much heart in founding. It enraged the young CEO that even in death the old bastard had so much hold on his life and that everyone kept comparing them, talking about Gozaburo as if he was a saint or something. The guy ruled the largest war weapon manufacturing and development company, that would tell you a lot about what kind of character he was.

Of course, he seemed to be the only one who understood Gozaburo started this event to make himself look better in the eyes of the public, giving money to help the kids he orphaned with his weapons, but then again, all businessman did the same so no one could actually call his step-father on it. He, for one, didn't care what others thought of him, never did and never would. Those people where meaningless to him, a bunch of idiots who thought they were so better than everyone else, they never had to do anything to get were they were, they were born rich thanks to the hard work of their parents and never had any worries, while he had to work for years and forget everything he was to earn the name Kaiba. And he did all that not for himself, but for his little brother.

Thinking about the kid made Kaiba look to his right, his little brother had grown so much in the last few years, both physically and mentally. He wasn't the little kid always clinging to him as if his life depended on it anymore, no, each passing day he was growing far more independent and extremely rebellious, in Kaiba's opinion. Well, wasn't that what he wanted for his brother? For him to be free to do whatever he wanted? He just wished his little brother would respect him like he used to when he was younger.

The eldest smirked when said little brother started to examine his fork out of extreme boredom. "That's what you get for nagging me to come here" Mokuba frowned and glared at his brother, true, he insisted that his brother came...but that didn't mean _he_ wanted to come as well, he simply agreed with the board members that his brother's image needed a little boost. "Weren't you the one who wanted to spend tome with me?" Kaiba added, folding his arms and looking straight in front of him.

"Talk about quality time." Mokuba mumbled.

"Well, if you hadn't been so insistent that I come here, we could have went somewhere else." Kaiba replied.

"No we wouldn't!" Mokuba answered angrily. "You would be locked in you office, working all night" He folded his arms and turned away, they had been arguing about that fore quite some time and Mokuba was tired of it.

He just couldn't take his brother's attitude anymore. Mokuba was old enough to realize his brother wasn't that much of a good person. Actually, deep down, he always knew, but now he couldn't lie to himself anymore, especially since he Kaiba's temper became even worst those last few years. Mokuba even ended up on the receiving end of his older brother's anger on a few occasions, now he understood how everyone else felt. Sometimes, he even felt like his brother was lashing out on him on purpose, like his brother was mad at him for something, but he couldn't understand why.

Both stayed silent for a while, until they were joined by two other businessman and their wife, the older men didn't waste any time before engaging Kaiba in a conversation about possible future deals. None realized that the younger CEO was only half listening, he didn't feel like it at all and he just hoped this would soon be over with so he could leave this place. After about twenty minutes of having to listen to boring ideas and giving his opinion on things he didn't give a damn about, their conversation was interrupted by someone taking the last empty seat next to Kaiba, much to his relief.

"Sorry I'm late, there was an awful lot of circulation tonight." The woman said with her overly sweet voice, smiling apologetically. She quickly leaned on her right and lightly kissed Kaiba on the lips before turning her attention back to the two older men in front of her. "I swear it was horrible, I can't believe how incompetent drivers are these days..."

Kaiba almost sighed as the two way older men completely forgot his presence, they were completely entranced by his date, or rather by her endless cleavage, as she kept rambling on an on about useless things. He let his eyes wander on her body almost shamelessly, she was the perfect supermodel, with her slightly over average height and her extremely thin frame. She was wearing a long red dress that tied behind her neck, letting her shoulders and back completely exposed, only covered by her long blond hairs, the dress went down to her feet but a cut on the side came up almost to her upper thigh, showing her long legs. He was not surprised to see her wearing such a revealing dress. Not that he minded her choice of clothing, it only served to remind him of what exactly was waiting for him after this stupid ball, something he was actually looking forward to.

He could feel his brother glaring at him and the woman, Kaiba knew that Mokuba didn't approve of his choice of company or his reasons for having said company around, but he couldn't care less. He was with her for convenience and he knew it was the same for her. It was obvious she wanted his money and the influence of his name, as long as he got something out of it, he was fine with it. Unlike his brother, he didn't believe in love, everyone always wanted something.

"Anzu?"

Kaiba immediately turned around when he heard his brother say that name, his eyes widened slightly in surprise at the sight of the girl standing next to him. His slip of surprise lasted for less than a second before his indifference mask came back on, but his mind was filled with questions. What was Yugi's little cheerleader doing here? Why wasn't she in Japan? He then remembered some vague memory of his brother saying she went to America to study...what was it again? Dance? That was a little over two years ago and he wasn't paying much attention to his brother, he didn't care about Yugi and his friends.

"Mokuba?" He heard her answer to his brother with equal surprise.

But if she really came here to study, what was she doing here? That's when he noticed the uniform she was wearing and the bowls in her hands, so she was working here...A smirk appeared on his features, he felt a twisted pleasure at seeing her like that. She was always standing up to him, arguing with him, telling him exactly what she thought of him and now she had to _serve_ him. "Glad to see you finally understood where you place was." He said, his smirk becoming even wider as he mocked her.

She turned her head around and looked at him, her eyes were still the same as he remembered, her features had matured a little and her hairs were slightly longer than in his memories but there was no mistake, it was Anzu Mazaki. "It's so nice to see you too Kaiba." She smiled as she said those words, but he could tell it wasn't a true smile, she wasn't pleased to see him here and he could see it, which actually pleased him immensely. She quickly apologized to his brother and left, he followed her with his eyes until she entered the kitchen and disappeared from his view.

Now that was an interesting development, of all things, he never expected to see her around here. He was surprised when she came back to his table, fifteen minutes later, to take back the now empty bowls, he actually expected her to move to a different table, but then again, she probably didn't want to give him the satisfaction to know he affected her. _Well too late for that._ He could see how tense she was as he watched her with amusement evident on his face, while she walked around the tables to serve the main dish. He knew he was making her uneasy by watching her like that, especially since she couldn't do anything about it, all she could do was bear it in silence. It had always annoyed him that she thought herself to be important enough to dare talking back to him and disrespect him so he enjoyed making her feel like the inferior person she truly was.

He was so occupied at torturing his prey that had completely forgotten about everything surrounding him. He was oblivious to the conversation the two other men were having with his brother or the repeated attempts by his date to get his attention. He'd make a neutral comment here and there when he was directly asked for his opinion on a business matter, but otherwise he spent most of his time watching the young dancer with sick pleasure as she served food and drinks to the other guests.

However, the dinner soon ended and his main distraction disappeared, leaving him with nothing else to do but listen, or at least pretend to listen, to the organizer of the event as he made his speech, welcoming them all and thanking them for their presence, before the evening could truly begin. God that was going to be a long night. He absentmindedly noticed his brother was gone, most likely to see Mazaki before she left. He couldn't understand why his little brother loved them so much, why he so firmly believed that they were different from all the other friends he had who were only after his money.

* * *

The evening was, as Kaiba predicted, boring as hell, well for him anyway, everyone else seemed to be having a good time. He just wanted to stop wasting his time here and do something productive. So here he was, laying against the wall, waiting until it would be late enough for him to leave without looking like he didn't give a damn about the event, and sending a death glare to anyone who dared to approach him.

"You know, you're better apologize for ignoring me like that for the entire evening after I got these men's attention away from you so you could have some peace." When Kaiba did nothing to acknowledge her, she stood on her toes and whispered seductively in his ear. "I got a room up there, we could slip out of here and then you can make it up to me."

Kaiba frowned as he looked down at her, usually he would follow her without further invitation, aside from public appearance, _that_ was the only reason he kept her around, those where the only times he could get a half decent night of rest, the only way he had to relax a little and forget about all his problems...if only for a couple of hours. However, as he looked down at her, there was only one thought in his mind.

"Plain."

The blond woman looked up at him, confused. "What?"

Kaiba's frown deepened. "You're plain. Plain, boring and empty." He said, looking at her with that look of his that made you feel like he was looking right into your soul. "Completely worthless. I've had enough of you." He pushed himself off the wall and walked away with long strides. He quickly scanned the room for his brother and walked straight toward him. "We're leaving." He said, once he grabbed the teen's arm, pulling him behind him as he headed for the door.

Mokuba quickly adjusted his pace to his brother's and looked at him with a confused look. "What about Milly? I thought you would stay with her tonight."

"Like I give a damn about her."

Mokuba followed his brother silently outside the hotel, wondering what this was about, he didn't dare ask, he knew he wouldn't get an answer anyway and would most likely result in another argument.

* * *

Now don't you all wonder what this was all about. Well in the end you did end up knowing what was wrong with that Milly lolll and we didn't see much on Mokuba, that will be for next chapter I'm afraid. I know this is kinda short, but it makes 2070 words lollll, adding more would be putting another 2000 words and I really don't have time if you want that chapter any time soon. Also, I'm going to great extend to actually Edit myself now, I hope it will make a difference, but I might be getting a Beta soon (depending of if the story interests her)

NEXT UPDATE: Well, in two weeks I have yet another exam week, as my friend says, I'm always in exam week. Of course I'll probably write, I'll need a break from studying at one point, So I give myself two weeks for my next update. HOWEVER, I'm planning out to write an epilogue to 'This isn't love' like I promised, so that will probably be my next update.

Please Review!!!


	3. My brother

Ok, first I'd like to appologise for my lateness in updating, it's not because I feel less like it, but I had big exams in the end of December and I had troubles studying and it actually didn't go that well. But it's my new resolve this year to keep up to date in my study and update more often.

I also want to tell you that I finally decided what I was going to do with the story 'This isn't love' I said I would do an epilogue, but while working on the epilogue I ended up having more and more ideas so I'm actually doing a sequel, which I should start soon probably.

By the way, this is the last 'setting the stage' chapter, after that one, the real action will begin.

Chapter three: My brother.

Anzu was panting hard when she opened the staff door leading to the lobby, she was late for her lunch with Mokuba so she had to run through the entire hotel and change in a hurry. Laying against the door frame, she scanned the vast room, searching for a familiar mop of black hair. She spotted him in the back, on a small couch, reading a book. Anzu sighed in relief, she had feared he may have already left, she stepped inside and walked toward him. "Sorry I'm late." She said apologetically, trying to catch her breath.

Mokuba looked up from his book and smiled. "It's alright. I know how horrible people staying here can be, I don't know how you can stand to do that job."

Anzu sighed. "Tell me about it. Some crazy super model apparently have something against me, she's been asking me all kind of weird stuff for two days. I swear if Jeana hadn't come up to replace me I would still be out there."

Mokuba frowned, somehow the name Milly Stellar came to his mind. She was a model, he knew she was staying here and from what he understood, his brother ditched her on the night of the charity ball after giving Anzu more attention than he ever gave the spoiled blond in the three months they had been together. But the younger Kaiba decided to keep his thoughts to himself, he doubted anything good could happen to his friend from catching his older brother's attention. In his mind, the less the two interacted, the better he would feel. "Well, are you all ready to go?" He asked.

Anzu smiled, all thoughts about her horrible day completely gone. "Of course. I'm starving." She said excitedly.

Mokuba stood up and walked with Anzu out of the hotel. "So, how is life treating you?" The teen asked, holding the door open for her.

Smiling at Mokuba's gentlemanliness, Anzu answered. "Good! Coming here was really hard at first, leaving my parents and friends, and everything is so different from Japan. But I made some new friends and I'm doing great now. Juilliard is awesome as well, not exactly what I expected but I love it there.

Mokuba smiled. "That's good to hear. We all knew you'd be able to do it."

"What about the guys?" Anzu asked, she hadn't speak to them in person and even though they kept in touch through letters and emails, it was nothing compared to a real discussion face to face.

"They are doing fine. I still can't believe Joey managed to get into a university, but he's surprisingly doing fine." Mokuba said, thoughtfully.

Anzu laughed. "Joey is not a stupid as he let it on, he actually had more than decent grades."

"Really?" Mokuba blinked. "As far as I've known him he's always been complaining about homeworks and exams being too difficult."

Anzu was still smiling. "Joey always worked hard to get out of his situation, he doesn't want to end up like his father. But he hid his grades well, he said it would ruin his bad boy reputation if people knew he had good grades."

"Why does that not surprise me from him." Mokuba said with a laugh. "Yugi and Tristan are doing fine too. Tristan actually got himself a girlfriend." He added the last part with a smirk.

"A girlfriend?" Anzu repeated in disbelief.

Mokuba nodded. "Yea, he met her during his classes, she's nice. She actually got him to change his haircut." He added the last part with an amused smile on his face.

"What?" Anzu exclaimed, stopping dead in her track. "You can't be serious!" There was just no way someone finally succeeded in making Tristan get rid of the pointed hair, it was like asking Joey to be nice to Kaiba.

Mokuba just kept smiling, stopping and turning around to look at her. "Oh but I am, he really did it."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Say, what about you?"

Mokuba stopped eating and looked questioningly at Anzu. "What do you mean 'what about me'?"

Anzu smiled kindly. "Well, we've been together for almost two hours but you didn't say anything about yourself. We talked about me and the guys but you never told me how you are doing."

Mokuba put his his utensils down and looked straight at her, Anzu was surprised by the emotions in his eyes, in all the years she had known the younger Kaiba she never saw him looking so sad and beat up. "I...It's ok." He put on a smile, but Anzu could tell he was forcing it.

"It's about your brother isn't it." She said with a sympathetic smile, it wasn't even a question, what else could affect the teen so much beside Kaiba?

"My...brother?" Mokuba repeated with a surprised look.

"You haven't talked about him at all either." Anzu answered calmly. "And I could sense the tension between the two of you the other day."

Mokuba looked away from Anzu and sighed, what was the use to trying to hide it now? "I guess you could say we are not on good terms lately...." The teen let out a bitter laugh, so much like his brother's and shook his head. "Who am I kidding? We're on horrible term, we've done nothing but argue for over a year."

"What happened?" Anzu wondered what could tear the Kaiba brothers apart, they were always so close.

Mokuba shrugged. "Nothing much really. I changed, he changed and we stopped getting along. Actually I guess you could say I stopped following him blindly, I'm old enough to understand all he bad things he's doing and how much he's hurting himself. But he still changed a lot in the past few years, he became more cold and distant, even toward me. It's feels like he's just going through life simply because it's there, it's been a long while since I last saw him actually do anything for himself or enjoy anything. I tried to help him, do something about him, but he's just pushing me away and we kept arguing and...I just gave up. I just couldn't take it anymore, what could I do? He's not listening to me, I...I really miss him, I wish he'd stop putting more and more barriers around himself but no matter what I do, he keep ignoring me or we fight.

Anzu sighed lightly, she could tell Mokuba had all this on his heart for a long time. She doubted he could talk about his problems with Kaiba to the guys, they didn't like the CEO that much and any mention oh his name always caused an endless rant about Kaiba's unbelievably long list of faults. "I'm sure things will work out eventually." Anzu tried to cheer him up, even though she doubted anything would really change, they were talking about Seto Kaiba here.

"Well I'm not, I've tried everything Anzu. As much as I what it to happen, Seto doesn't change, he never tried to and I can't spend the rest of my life waiting for him."

Anzu didn't know what to say to make the teen feel better, he looked so down. After all, he had no parents and his older brother has been his entire world for so long, his only role model, the only one who cared about him and the only one he could rely on. She couldn't imagine how hard it could be to lose all that at the same time.

"Anzu?" Mokuba asked, looking up at her. Anzu tilted her head to the side, indication him to continue. "If you ever see Seto again...Just...don't try to get close to him." He told her.

Anzu gave him a weird look. "Why are you telling me that?"

"I know you." Mokuba answered. "You always try to help people, you can't turn a blind eye to someone you feel you could help. You always tried to make Seto see his mistakes and offer him your friendship. As much as I appreciate everything you tried to do for him despite his attitude toward you, I'd feel better knowing you are far away from him."

Anzu smiled. "Come on Mokuba, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think."

Mokuba smiled bitterly. "Seto lives in a twisted world where nothing is ever free and everyone had a hidden motive. He...never had anyone he could rely on, no one ever cared for him and he had been betrayed by everyone he ever trusted. I'm afraid he could hurt you if you tried to get close to him, I mean, after everything he did to me, I can't imagine what he would do to you."

Anzu frowned. "What do you mean 'everything he did to you'? But he loves you, and he trusts you doesn't he? I mean, we all saw how much he cares for you, why would he hurt you?"

Mokuba looked down. "It's complicated, even I don't understand how he truly feels about me. I used to think he loved me unconditionally but lately I don't know what to think, he's been harsh on me, feels like he's deliberately pushing me away from him, more than that, he's knowingly hurting me, he's stabbing me continually with his words, I'm starting to think that I was wrong all along, maybe he thinks I'll betray him like the rest of our family, maybe he just took care of me because he felt obligated to..."

Anzu put her hand on Mokuba's shoulder to give him support. "If there is one thing I've always been sure of when it came to your brother, it's how much he loves you."

Mokuba smiled faintly. "I hope you're right."

"I know I am." Anzu replied. "Just don't give up hope on him, I think he need your help now more than ever."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The subject of Kaiba was carefully avoided for the rest of the evening and quickly Mokuba's happy mood returned. They finished dinner and went for a walk in the park, speaking about school, work, future project and just about everything that happened in the last two years. Eventually they reached Anzu's apartment.

"It's a shame you have to leave tomorrow. I would have loved to spend some more time with you." Anzu said, opening the door of her apartment.

"It's my fault, actually." Mokuba said as he followed Anzu inside. "You didn't know I was here, I should have called you but I was so busy I didn't think about it."

"Anzu!!!!!!! I need a really really really really big..." Matthew appeared in the living room in the middle of his rant but stopped instantly when he saw Mokuba, his face paled considerably as he stared at him like a deer caught in headlight.

Mokuba looked back at him, frowning at the familiar face. "Bristel? He asked in disbelief, with his piercings, straight black and blond hair and provocative clothing, Matt looked nothing like the reserved and shy young man Mokuba was used to see.

"Kaiba..." Matt replied suspiciously. Both stared at one another for a few moments. He was worried, his father and Seto Kaiba where huge competitor and weren't on good term, Matt wasn't really on good terms with Kaiba either, he was one of the young CEO's favorite victim and he couldn't imagine how much he would make him suffer if he knew his secret.

"I never expected that by Matt, you meant Matthew Bristel..." Mokuba said in disbelief. "How did you two met?" He asked, turning toward her.

Anzu smiled. "We met him at one of my job. But, can you not tell anyone he kinda lives here? His father is not a really opened guy.

"I can tell." Mokuba said. He turned toward Matt. "Don't worry, I won't tell. If you keep me company the next time we'll be at a formal gathering together." Mokuba added with a smile. "It would be nice to talk to someone normal for once."

Matthew blinked twice but finally smiled and nodded, if Anzu liked him, then he had no reason to doubt him.

"I have to go." Mokuba said, giving one last hug to Anzu before leaving. "I'll see you soon!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Alright, Sorry I didn't write more during my vacation, but I'm sure you can understand that I only had 2 weeks to see my friend and my family, I actually spent a lot of time writing and I know I made the promise often, but now I'll keep it. I'm going to be more studious and write more, I really like writing, I'll also start my new story soon hopefully. Depending on if I believe I can keep up with two stories again. But I'm aiming to return to one chapter per week like I was doing before.

The next chapter is already half written, tomorrow I'm going back home, so I'll have time to finish it on the bus, probably, so it should be up before next weekend.

Drop in a Review. I swear if I get more review I'll make it my pleasure to update even faster.


	4. Preview of an eventful year

Hey there, yea I know I'm a little bit late. Thing is, I wasn't home this weekend and I kinda did my lazy self again. I swear that now that I look at it seriously, I really don't have much to do with my life, I'm always complaining that I'm bored and have nothing to do lolll. So yea, I should be able to keep up to my promise to update more often. I just have to get my lazy ass to work.

I'm sorry for the delay, everything is explained after the chapter (which I know you won't take the time to read anyway (why do I keep bothering putting on author notes))

Chapter four: Preview of an eventful year.

"Anzu...Hey Anzu, wake up."

Anzu shifted in her sleep and turned around, trying to get away from the insistent poke on her shoulder. "Five more minutes..." The brunet mumbled in her sleep, bringing the covers over her head.

"It's 8:30 Anzu..." Kaytleen said, shaking her friend a little harder.

"What?!?!" Anzu said, instantly awake, how could it be 8:30? She put her alarm at 6:30 before going to sleep, she looked at her alarm on the night stand and saw the flashing red digits, indicating that there was a blackout during the night. Anzu groaned as she quickly got out of her bed to get ready for school, she had planned to wake up early to have time to prepare herself, take a shower, eat a nice breakfast and walk slowly to school, but now that was impossible, the first hour of class had already started and she had to hurry if she wanted to make it in time for the second. Just her luck, she was late on the first day of the school year.

When she got out of her room, fully dressed, Matt and Kaytleen were already eating. Matt handed her a plate of toast but Anzu declined. "I don't have the time, I have to leave now if I want to make it in time." She grabbed her bag, which she thankfully prepared the day before, and left the apartment in a rush.

She ran as fast as she could, the school wasn't really that far away, only about 20 minutes of walk, so if she hurried, she could make it by 9 and on time for her second class. She had a dancing class, and she knew from experience that the teacher wouldn't let them waste away the first two hours just because it was the first day, she was going to make them work even harder to catch up on their summer slacking. Luckily for Anzu, the streets were mostly empty at this time so she was progressing quickly, it would be a close call but she could make it. She turned the corner without slowing down, only to bump into something at full speed and fall on the concrete.

"Oww...." Anzu winced as she hit the ground hard and scraped her hands on the sidewalks, this definitely wasn't her day.

"I've had girls throwing themselves at me before, but I never thought you'd get that low to get my attention. It seems you are even more pathetic than I thought."

Anzu flinched, not because of the pain but because of the voice, she couldn't believe how much fate seemed to love torturing her lately. Out of the millions of people living in New-York, why did it have to be him? Still sitting on the ground, Anzu looked up at Kaiba, it took all her will power to not look back down under his intimidating glare. Anzu stood up on her own, knowing it was useless to expect any kind of gesture from the CEO, she frowned and dusted herself. "Don't flatter yourself, I wouldn't consider doing anything with you even if you were the last man on earth."

Kaiba chuckled mockingly. "That has to be the oldest and lamest excuse of the book. And from my experiences, those who say those words usually are trying to convince themselves more than anyone else. I suppose it's all you can't do since there is no way I would ever have any interest in someone like you, beside I wouldn't want to risk catching some disease you got from your little friends."

Anzu stared at him with wide eyes, she couldn't believe she hear that right, sure he was always mean...but never like that. She wanted so much to punch him, make him swallow back his words, but she was so angered and surprised, she couldn't think of anything to say. "You're a jerk!" She finally said, lamely.

Kaiba smirked. "What? Out of insults already?"

"What do you want?" Anzu finally asked, starting up at him. "I've never done anything except being nice to you. What the heck is your problem?"

Kaiba's smirk disappeared as he coldly stared down at her. "You annoy me." Anzu simply raised an eyebrow at his answer, she annoyed him? "Always happily jumping around like a little girl, preaching about love and support. Well let me tell you something. Life isn't pink, it isn't easy, it definitely isn't fair nor does it give a damn about you, if you don't play by it's twisted rules then there is no way you can be successful at anything. One day your little fantasy world will come crumbling at you feet and you'll get a taste of what real life is like."

Anzu frowned. "Wow you actually sound like you care about what could happen to me."

Kaiba's smirk widened. "Don't think too highly of yourself. You annoy me because you are an idiot who think she knows better and there is nothing I hate more than brainless people who do knot know their place. I actually look forward to the day everything around you will crash down and you'll be reduced to show you feminine attribute to drunken old men to get by."

Anzu just stared at him, with one last mocking smirk, the CEO shoved her out of his way and left, she was stunned, she had never seen Kaiba so...she couldn't even describe it. Suddenly, she snapped out of it and remembered why she was in such a hurry to begin with. "Oh shit!!!" She teared her eyes away from Kaiba's retreating back and ran as fast as she could toward the school, even though she knew it was useless by now, she was definitely going to be late...

When she finally reached her school, all the hallways were totally deserted, the second class had already started. She quickly made her way to the changing room of the dance studio an changed into her dance clothes, simple black pants and light blue tight sleeveless shirt. After tying her hair and putting her day clothes in a locker, she made her way to the studio, trying to be as discrete as possible, but that was useless, as soon as she opened the huge doors, everyone turned around to look at her. The teacher smiled kindly at her, but Anzu knew she was in for it. "Ah Mrs. Mazaki, how nice of you to join us, just when I needed someone to show the class some new dance moves." Anzu smiled nervously as she walked toward the other students, who were all sitting on the floor in front of the teachers, yup, she was definitely in for it.

* * *

"Man I'm starving." Anzu said as she let her tray of food fall loudly on the table. she was completely exhausted, after running all the way to school and having to serve as the teacher's puppet to show every dance moves, she was completely exhausted, and to make things worst, she did all that on an empty stomach. Her friends laughed slightly and the girl sitting next to her gave her a few pat on the back.

"Still, you did great, last time I was late I couldn't do half of what the teacher asked correctly." Tiffany, the girl who was patting Anzu's back said with a reassuring smile.

"It wasn't that hard." Anzu said simply as she stuffed food in her mouth in an way that would make Joey proud of her. "What?" She asked, when she saw all her friends where looking at her.

"Of course, for you it was easy, you're like the top student of the dance section. From my point of view that dance was just so complicated, it's gonna take me at least three days to memorize the steps and even more to actually be able to do it." Cindy, another of Anzu's classmate said.

Anzu looked down slightly in embarrassment, she didn't like it when the others kept praising her, after all they were great dancers also and she didn't consider herself any better than them.

"Don't give us that shy look, we're all extremely talented dancers...and musician." Tiffany added the last part after receiving a glare from Jade, who was in the music department. "We wouldn't be here if we weren't, but even amongst the best there are always people who are even better, you shouldn't feel bad because of that and none of us is going to hate you for it." As he said those words, the other around the table agreed and soon discussions about what they hoped would happen in the next year started.

* * *

The rest of the day was mainly uneventful, Anzu had some more classes and chatted with other friends she hadn't seen since the beginning of summer, all thoughts about her early encounter with Kaiba disappeared from her mind. When class ended, Anzu had to leave quickly to get to her new job, she walked down the streets with a smile on her face, she couldn't wait to get started, it was a small coffee shop she never went to before, so she didn't really know what it would be like, but she was excited.

The young dancer smiled softly as she arrived in front of the Café, over the door, there was a huge sign with the words 'Café Clint' on it, the shop was situated on one half of the first floor of a huge building, it was barely visible and mostly out of place in the sea of buildings on both side of the street. Anzu entered and froze when she saw what the shop looked like. The inside had a comfortable appearance, suited for just any situation. On one side of the shop, slightly isolated, there were a few comfortable looking sofas for small groups. On the other side there were ordinary yet comfortable tables. The place itself felt very relaxing and Anzu loved it already.

"You must be Anzu." Anzu turned her head toward the counter, where a young man, about her age, appeared from the back store. The brunet nodded slightly. "Good, you are just one time. I'm Rylan, I work here too." He said, holding our his hand.

Anzu shook it with a huge smile, Rylan looked like a nice guy, and he definitely was good looking. (Anzu tried hard not to blush at the thought). He was tall and lean but still had a strong frame with light blond hair, he had spirited angular eyes but Anzu noticed that one was a light shade of blue and the other was green. "Your eyes aren't the same color." Anzu noted dumbly, it wasn't really polite, but it was the first time she saw something like that and it fascinated her.

Rylan blinked once before groaning. "Damn, I lost another contact, I swear I can't hold on these things, they keep falling off every time." He ranted as he turned toward a mirror behind the counter and take off the remaining contact lenses. When he turned back toward Anzu, he had two really light blue eyes.

"Why are you wearing color changing contacts?" Anzu asking, in her opinion, his eyes were absolutely stunning.

"Because having blue eyes when you are blond is so ordinary." Rylan pouted slightly, Anzu giggled a little, something about him reminded her of Matthew. "Anyway." He continued abruptly, forgetting instantly about his lost contact. "Welcome to the Café Clint, you already have experience as a waitress so you shouldn't have much problems. For now it looks empty but don't be fooled, in exactly twenty two minutes this place will be swarming with people. Trust me, one minute it's completely deserted and the next you'll be wishing you had another pair of arms. But you'll get used to it." He said the last part with an encouraging smile before taking her for a quick visit of the shop and some instruction on how things were done.

Rylan wasn't kidding when he said things could get hectic, he barely had the time to show her everything she needed to know before the place was literally invaded, talk about learning on the spot. In less than 4 minutes all the tables were taken and there was a line almost stretching outside of the shop. For the next hour and a half, Anzu didn't have a single minute to rest.

"Talk about a rush." Anzu said once things calmed down. "It feels like this is a classy restaurant or something."

"Oh but it is a high class café." Rylan answered with a mocking snob air. "No but seriously, I'm sure you've seen where we are located, all around us are nothing but business buildings, each having more than a hundred employees who work too hard, are over stressed and have nothing but instant coffee all day long. So when they are on their break or finish their shift, a lot of them come here for a moment of relaxation and to taste some real coffee and home made deserts."

The following hour was more calm, there were only a few costumers inside the shop, mostly small groups of friends who decided to hang out a little after their hard day at work. Other costumers came in every few minutes but they left as soon as they got their order so things were going smoothly. Rylan left her in charge while he went to the back store to do a quick clean up, so Anzu was left with nothing better to do but let her mind wander and think about all the cool things she would do this year. That is, until she was brought back to the present by the little bell over the door. She turned around to greet the new costumer but froze when she heard a cold and familiar voice, once she was hearing too often to her liking lately.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

* * *

whewwww that's done, I'm seriously sorry for the long update, but I wasn't home for the last two weekends and I didn't like how that chapter turned out so I had to rewrite it entirely, and to top it all, I had 36 hours of class this week, even today I got out of school at 5h30, those are long days, by the time I eat it's already 6h30 and I'm exhausted, so I'm not really in the mood to write. But good news, this week I found back my love of learning (yea I'm like that, I love going to school and learn things) Which I had lost during my last term of College and only found back tuesday, which explains why I wasn't feeling good during the first term of university. But now I'm more studious, which also means I write more since I'm not late in my homework and not stressed by them.

Next chapter is already started, expect it around next weekend (this time I promise I'll stick to my words, I have a more calmer week)

Reviews are appreciated.


	5. Not to play his game

Hey everyone, yea I know I'm late............again, but I'm progressing, still, there aren't much university student writing fanfiction so that gives you an idea just how hard it is. But let's get on with it so that I can finish this quickly and you can read it.

Chapter five: To not play his game.

Kaiba seriously felt like killing someone as he stepped out of the elevator on the floor of his office. His last meeting has been ridiculously long and frustrating. That damn Jeremiah Bristel stole the deal from right under his nose once again. He had discussed everything with the CEO of GameX, they were supposed to sign the contract today but that damn Bristel had to go and triple his offer. That was an important deal, knew what the older CEO was trying to do, his company was the biggest in the American gaming industry before Kaiba Corp arrived and he was determined to keep Kaiba from becoming a serious competitor. Thanks to Bristel's effort, even after two years in America, Kaiba Corp hadn't been able to develop as much as Kaiba wished. Jeremiah Bristel did everything he could to steal deal after deal from Kaiba and stopping him from fully implanting his company in America. Unfortunately, there was nothing Kaiba could about it, he couldn't offer more than Bristel, damn the guy was practically losing money with all the ridiculous offer he kept doing, he wasn't making any real profit, his only goal being to take Kaiba down before he could become a serious competitor.

But Kaiba wasn't a quitter, he was trained all his childhood to be the best and defeat was never an option for him. Instead of going for big deals, Kaiba started to scrape up every little deal he could find, knowing there was a limit to the number of deals Bristel could steal from him, after all, Bristel had to make profits somewhere if he wanted to survive as well. Still, Kaiba kept trying to get bigger deals, only to force Bristel to raise his own offers constantly. So far his plan was working swiftly, after a while Bristel couldn't keep offering more than Kaiba and always end up losing money, so, slowly but surely, Kaiba was able to make himself a comfortable and secured place in the market, but he was still nowhere as powerful as Bristel, that last deal would have gave him a serious boost, but once again Bristel stole that opportunity from him. Kaiba had to admit, the other man was good. Unfortunately, this masquerade was taking its tool on Kaiba. The young CEO had to work endless hours and go through almost a dozen meetings each day. He was constantly tired and on edge.

He ignored his secretary as she informed him of the work he had to do and slammed the door of his office behind him. His eyes wandered over his desk, at the pile of paperwork that needed to be done and the flashing red light on his phone, indicating that he had new messages. He sighed deeply, letting his head drop in his hands, he could feel a huge headache coming. Today was definitely not his day, he had planned to get up earlier to do some last minute work for the day but, because of a damn blackout, he woke up late and not only did he miss his first meeting, but he wasn't prepared for the other ones he had during the day. And to make things worst, as he walked the two blocks separating his office from his penthouse, he just HAD to meet Mazaki. The CEO shook his head to erase her from his thoughts, only thinking about her name made his headache grow a tenfold. For some reason, the mere thought of her frustrated him more than any meeting, he didn't know why and that bothered him even more.

Pushing all thoughts about the annoying woman in a far corner of his mind, Kaiba set out to work. He spent the next few hours or so scanning various documents and contracts, signing some and correcting others, every five minutes or so he was interrupted by phone calls, which often turned in long and pointless arguments, leaving him even more exhausted.

Kaiba slammed the phone down after a particularly frustrating conversation, he kept a tight grip on the receiver, considering the option of crashing the thing in his laptop, but finally decided against it, he knew the satisfaction he would get from it wasn't worth all the problems the destruction of the computer would cause him. Still he gave himself the pleasure of throwing it on the ground, but as he expected, the termination of the phone did little to lighten his mood. He stood up abruptly, not caring that his chair felt on the ground, he was deeply in need of an inhuman amount of coffee or else he would commit murder soon.

He stepped out of his office and looked out in the hallway for his secretary, since he had just crashed his phone, he actually had to go talk to her in person, but she was nowhere in sight. "Maria?" He called out, doing his best to keep his frustration at bay, the last thing he needed right now was to search for a new secretary because he lost his cool. Still he got no answer. Kaiba sighed, frustrated, she was probably taking her break. However he didn't feel like waiting for her to come back and he didn't feel like drinking the mud his employees were so found of so he decided to go out himself, who knew, maybe a small break would make him feel better.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once outside, Kaiba looked around him, the streets where calm at this time, it was almost 8 in the evening so most people had finish working long ago and where home with their family. Quickly, he made his way to where he knew there was a small café, he didn't want to take any longer than necessary since he still had a lot of work and it wasn't in his habits to take a break.

When he entered the small shop, only three blocks away from Kaiba Corp, he was relieved to find that it was completely empty, that is, until his eyes landed on the petite brunette standing behind the counter, her back was facing him, but he'd recognize her anywhere. "You've for to be kidding me." He said, his voice dripping with disdain, he wasn't the the mood to deal with her of all people.

Anzu stared at him with wide eyes, her expression was one of surprise while he was giving her the cold look she was getting used to see recently. It was the third time, they hadn't see each other for two years, which was perfect in both their opinion and now it was the third time they met in a week. It was as if fate was having fun torturing them.

The young dancer was the first one to recover from the shock, she blinked and shook her head before looking back at him with a small smile grazing her lips. "Good evening Kaiba." She said politely.

Kaiba snapped out of it as well when Anzu greeted him, but his features changed from anger to something that could be best considered as wicked. So maybe he couldn't find peace anywhere but at least now he had someone he could use to take out some of his frustration. "Well what do you know, looks like you are fated to serve me. You're better get used to it and forget about your silly little girl dream because that's where you belong."

Anzu simply shrugged. "Apparently so." She answered calmly. "So, what can I get you?"

Kaiba raised a mocking eyebrow as he stood in front of her. "What's the matter? They already managed to tame you?"

Anzu sighed and decided to ignore the fact Kaiba just referred to her as some kind of animal, it was her first day of work and she was not going to let Kaiba have his way with her. "Look, I'm working here, yea big deal, seriously, this isn't high school anymore, I'm sure you didn't came all the way here just to insult me and that you have way more important things to do. So why don't you just give me your order, than I can give it to you and you can get back to you life." She just started at him, waiting for him to actually act like the gentleman he was supposed to be and give her his order, but no such thing happened. His eyes turned even colder than Anzu ever saw them and it took all her will not to look down, she was completely frozen on the spot by his eyes, for a moment Anzu was even afraid of him.

"Whatever." He finally said, turning away from her, Anzu felt as if a huge weight was taken off her shoulder as he stopped looking at her, he was leaving, much to her relief.

"Why did I even came to this place to begin with." Kaiba asked himself, his mood worst than ever. The door opened in front of him as someone entered the shop but Kaiba roughly pushed the person out of his way and glared at him with all his might. Matthew quickly looked down under the mental pressure, he was totally paralyzed by the intimidating look, only when the door closed behind the CEO was he able to breath again.

"Wasn't that Kaiba?" He asked, looking worriedly over his shoulder. "What in the world did you do? I don't think I ever saw him looking so angry."

Anzu shrugged, also looking at the door, she was still quite shaken up herself from Kaiba's look. "I just asked him what he wanted." She answered, which was the truth. She had expected him to get mad if she refused to play his little childish game, but nothing like that. "What are you doing here, Matt?" She asked, trying to change the subject and lighten the atmosphere.

"Oh." Matt turned his attention back to her and smiled mischievously. "What do you think? I'm here to do what any good friend does: bothering you on you new job." He answered, laying against the counter.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Kaiba got back to Kaiba Corp, his mood hadn't improved at all, if possible, it was even worst, he didn't understand why what Mazaki said made his so angry and that only made him feel more and more frustrated, he hated not understanding things, on top of it all he still had a headache and he didn't get a single drop of coffee. Maria was better be back from her break by the time he reached his office or else...

As he stepped outside of the elevator he was slightly relieved to see her come out of his office, she had probably been looking form him after not getting any answers from him, he quickly walked toward her, she looked up at him just as he reached her and jumped slightly, surprised to suddenly see him next to her. She opened her mouth to say something but Kaiba didn't let her utter a single word, he instantly silenced her with a fierce and demanding kiss.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yea I know, this is seriously short, the original chapter was longer, but I ended up changing it a lot, which is a good thing considering this one is really better, seriously the best advantage at writing on paper first, I can see better things as I write it over on the computer, unfortunately the changes cause me to drop an entire part and I really had nothing to replace it with and since you've all been waiting for this chapter I didn't want to keep you waiting, especially since I'm not home this weekend and therefore will not have the time to write.

Starting now things will get more and more interesting.....if Kaiba....or one of you, doesn't succeed in killing me....

Read and Review please. (something tells me a lot of you are mad at was I actually wrote)


	6. Hard beginning part 1

Ok, I know this was long, but let's see, I had my exam week, so of course I studied, I actually wrote a lot in my vacation, I actually have two chapters out on paper, but I lacked the time to put them on my computer due to my exam last week, my best friend was dumped by her boyfriend which meant I went to see her those last two weekends because on top of that her two roommates decided to leave the apartment calling her a crazy bitch so I spent a lot of time with her....and I had another exam yesterday morning.

So, here's the new chapter, actually it was supposed to be only one chapter but it ended up being way too long, so I had to cut it in half (unless you want to wait a few more days because the other part isn't quite finished).....Enjoy

Chapter six: Hard beginning part.1

It wasn't long before Anzu got the beat of the school life, three weeks had passed since the beginning of the school year and the usual routine of school: homeworks, classes and work started. But Anzu was happy, she loved what she was doing, dancing was her dream and each day she spent in Juilliard brought her one day closer to fulfilling that dream. She loved her new job too. Rylan was nice and she always had a lot of fun with him, he was smart, funny and passionate. She also got to meet a lot of interesting people each day and put some light, in the form of a smile and coffee, in their stressful and gloomy day. She actually guessed that a good enough number of the costumers worked for Kaiba, she hear his name a few times already and it was never in a positive way. She always made sure to be extremely pleasing to those poor souls.

Speaking of the CEO, Anzu hadn't seen him since he came to the shop, which actually suited her just fine by the way, considering how he was acting toward her recently. However, she couldn't get him out of her mind completely. Kaiba was never really friendly toward her or her friends, especially Joey, still, as far as she could remember, he never directly attacked her. Even Joey, who was always trying to pick fights with the CEO, never got a treatment like the one she got lately. Sometimes, she wished Mokuba was still around to tell her what was wrong with him, but then again, Mokuba himself told her not to go near his brother or try to help him. But such words only aroused her curiosity. What horrible thing could have happened to make Kaiba worst than ever?

"Pretty dead, isn't it?" Rylan noted, interrupting Anzu's thoughts about the tall blue eyed brunet. Looking at him, Anzu smiled a little. "I can't really blame them." She said, glancing out the window. "I wouldn't want to go out on a day like this either." The weather had been really bad all day, a storm was raging and it was raining so hark that anyone stupid enough to go outside would be drenched to the bones in less than 5 seconds. That meant that Anzu and Rylan had almost nothing to do, as only a few courageous, or really desperate, people came in during the last 3 hours. Of course it wasn't bad to have an easy day at the job for once and she was still paid the same so it didn't really matter, but it still felt to Anzu like she could do something more productive with her time, like practicing her dancing.

Suddenly, the door opened and someone, completely soaked, quickly came in. Both Anzu and Rylan stretched over the counter to see who their first costumer in the last 45 minutes was. Anzu smiled happily when she recognized her friend. "Hey Matt!What are you doing here? I thought you were having dinner with your father tonight." Her smile suddenly disappeared and she looked at him with worries. "Did something happen? Are you ok?"

Matthew smiled tiredly and sat on one of the stools in front of the counter, his clothes were soaked and water was dripping from his long black hair. "he was called for some sort of emergency." Matt explained. "Just when he was getting started on his favorite subject of discussion: why his only son is nothing but a disappointment." A bitter smile appeared on his lips as he looked outside the shop to avoid the apologizing look he knew Anzu was giving him.

Anzu sighed, it seemed things were not getting better between Matt and his father. "I'm sorry."

Matt forced himself to smile lightly as he looked up at her. "You don't have to be sorry, it's not like you have anything to do with this." His smile faded and he let his face drop in his hands. "It's just...I'm tired of this....Every time I see him he keeps criticizing me. No matter what I do it's never good enough for him and lying to him is becoming more and more problematic."

A steaming cup was suddenly placed in front of him, Matt stared at it for a second before looking up and was surprised to see Rylan standing in front of him, he hadn't even realized the other man was there. The blond man slightly bent down to be on Matt's level and smiled. "Just give him some time, older men have a habits of not seeing what they don't want to see. One day your dad will definitely stop trying to change you to his likings and realize he already has a wonderful son." Rylan winked quickly before straightening and disappearing in the back store.

Once he was out of sight, Anzu looked at Matt with a knowing smile and opened her mouth to say something but Matt was faster. "Don't you dare say or think anything."

"Why not?" Her smile widened. "He's smart, has a good sense of humor, he's downright sexy, and he was obviously flirting with you. What more could you ask for?" She whispered to him so Rylan wouldn't hear.

"Anzu..." Matt complained, not liking where this conversation was going.

"You are blushing." The dancer added with a playful smile.

"I'm not." Matt replied, trying (and failing) to hide his embarrassment by drinking some of the hot chocolate Rylan gave him. Both remained silent for a while, Matt trying to regain his composure while Anzu kept looking at him with that mischievous smile. "That reminds me..." Matt said after about a minute, desperate to bring the conversation out of THAT territory. "My dad wants me to go to some kind of business party with him next week....and he's been not so subtly hinting that I should bring someone..." Still smiling, Anzu slowly turned her head to look at the door leading to the back store, where Rylan disappeared a few minutes ago. "A girl for god's sake Anzu." Matt added, seeing where her deviant thoughts where going.

Anzu laughed and put her elbow on the counter, resting her head on her hand. "I know." She grinned. "So, does that mean you are asked me to go with you and pretend I am deeply in love with you?"

"Well..."Matt hesitated before finally sighing in defeat. "That's a way of putting it, I guess." He looked up at her with huge pleading eyes, making him look like a child. "Please! I'll do anything you want."

Anzu thought about it for a moment, she wasn't really sure what those sort of things were, but it couldn't be that bad right? Something along the lines of smile and be pretty. Right? "What kind of party is it?" Anzu asked.

"Well, it's a formal thing, with dresses and ballroom dancing. I'd pay for the dress and everything, don't worry about that. You wouldn't really have to do anything."

Anzu tilted her head to the side and brought her finger up to her chin in a pensive pose. "So basically, I have to stand around bitchy trophy girls while your father degrades both of us?" She asked, only half jokingly. She knew Mr. Bristel, Matt's father would certainly not think highly of her career choice and wouldn't hesitate in telling her so.

Matt flinched. "Yea...that's about it." He said slowly, looking down at the counter.

"Alright. I'll go with you." Anzu finally said. Matt looked up at her with wide eyes, he was obviously surprised that she accepted. "If..." Matt frowned slightly as Anzu said that word, he knew he should have expected something like that.

"If?" He asked warily.

Anzu smiled. "You have to dance with me at that party and treat me to 'Juliette en Chocolat' afterward."

Matt blinked and stared at her like she was completely crazy. "That's all?"

Anzu shrugged, "Yea, I don't really need anything to help out a friend you know. And it's not every day I get to practice my formal dancing. Just so long as you promise to not leave me alone with your father."

"I can manage that...But why Juliette en Chocolat?" Matt asked, giving her a weird look.

Anzu grinned. "Because I love it and I haven't had the chance to go there in ages.

* * *

"So, you agreed to go with him?" Kaytleen asked, looking up from her textbook and at her brown haired friend.

Anzu shrugged. "Yea, he's been helping me a lot since I arrived here, so it's only natural that I do something for him." The dancer explained. "Beside, how terrible can it be?"

Kaytleen put down her pencil on her school paper and looked at Anzu with amusement. "You mean beside spending the entire evening surrounded by pampered princesses and having to eat dinner with Jeremiah Bristel, the man who practically make you break down in tears?"

Anzu flinched, her first and only meeting with the older man was definitely one of her worst memory, and god knew she when through a lot by hanging around Yugi.

_***Flashback***_

Anzu was busy cleaning the now vacant hotel room as fast as she could, a new client would be arriving in fifteen minutes and by then she had to be done and out of sight. It was her first days of real work, up until now, there was always someone with her to show her how to do things. As she quickly changed the towels and cleaned the bathroom, Anzu saw her reflexion in the mirror over the sink. Seeing herself, dressed like a maid directly out of a teenage boy's fantasy, Anzu could stop herself from smiling as she thought about how her friends would react. She could picture Yugi blushing in embarrassment while joey and Tristan would most likely drool on the floor.........and Kaiba would probably die from laughing to much, not that she was EVER going to let HIM of all people see her like this.

She had left Japan two weeks ago, right after graduation, and everything was starting to sink in. She had made it, she was accepted in Juilliard, her dream of becoming a famous dancer was that much closer now. But she also left her friends and her family behind. She had never been so far away from everyone for so long and she had no idea how long it would be before she could afford to go back to Japan. She was feeling extremely lonely and overwhelmed by the cultural difference. She hadn't made any friends so far, since school was out and she didn't have the opportunity of going out much yet either. She missed her friends terribly, even the obnoxious blue eyed CEO and his constant insults and his fights with Joey. She knew he was actually somewhere in New-York as well, trying to start an American branch to Kaiba Corp. But even through she longed to see a familiar face, she knew better than to try and find him. She might consider him a friend on a certain level but she knew the feeling was far from reciprocated. He'd probably have her kicked out instantly.

Once she had finished erasing all traces of the previous costumers, Anzu grabbed all her cleaning supplies and left. She quickly made her way to the next room she had to clean, which was a little farther down the hallway. However, when she reached the room, someone grabbed her wrist harshly and pulled her inside an adjacent room before she could even understand what was going on.

* * *

Arrow: OMG what could have happened? Maybe Kaiba was there and was aroused by the outfit and decided to rape her?

Anzu: Hey!

Kaiba: In you dream

Arrow: (stupid dreamy look)

Kaiba: For god's sake. I'm so out of here

Joey and Tristan: Hey, when will we be in the story?

Arrow: Well......you see, there is a certain part in my story I'm still wondering if I will actually keep or drop. If I keep it.......you'll be there in a heck of a long time. If not, you'll make your appearance in a damn heck of a long time.

Joey: WHAT?!?!?!?

Arrow: So, next chapter, we'll know exactly who is the creep who wants to rape Anzu. DUH DUH DHUM!!!! Nah, kidding, it is a T rated story (for now at least, if I can find it in me it might get M later on (WAY later on lolll)

Arrow: Also, how many of you actually noticed that Jeremiah Bristel (damn dyslexia, I'm actually completely unable to write his name, no matter how many times I try it always come out as Jemeriah)(Matt's father for those of you who even now couldn't figure that much out) was mentioned a little earlier in the story as Kaiba's biggest competitor and pain in the ass here in New-York? Oh don't you sense drama there. Poor Matt. But I really like him. (I'm sure he's way more loved than my last male OC loll. What was his name again?.....a yes, Raven.....)

Let's see, I should be able to update.....in the weekend.


	7. Hard beginning part 2

I learned something, never approach me when I play DDR, Why? Because even if I heard you coming, and even if I saw you coming and actually realised that there was someone here, my brain is to occupied making my body move and read the arrows to fully process those facts and I freak out big time when I turn my head and see someone is really standing there, even if I've known she was there and even recognized her before looking at her.

Anyway, let's get on with the chapter (OMG less than one week between two updates, you must be so proud of me) (thing is, I'm tired of studying)

Chapter seven: Hard beginning part 2:

Anzu was roughly pushed deeper inside the hotel room, she barely managed to regain her balance and not fall on the ground from the force the man used. She heard the door slamming shut, making her look up quickly, panic taking over. A large man, around his mid fifty, was standing in front of the door, blocking her only way out. She was trapped. The older man was glaring down at her with such a furious expression that Anzu was completely paralyzed.

"So? What do you have to say for yourself?" The man almost roared, so loud and deformed by rage that Anzu could barely understand what he was saying.

The young brunette forced herself to look at him, he was imposing, tall, with broad shoulders, short gray hairs and severe features, he looked every bit like a business man and everything about him screamed power. "C-can I help you?" She managed to ask, hoping she didn't sound insolent from fear of angering him even more.

However, it didn't help in calming the situation, the older man simply became even more enraged. "Don't play innocent with me. You've cleaned my room this morning, didn't you?" He asked, but it sounded more like an affirmation.

"Y-yes. I d-did." Anzu answered, as she subtly looked around the room for another way out, though she doubted the man was some kind of sexual predator, she still didn't feel safe.

"I knew it!" The businessman exclaimed triumphantly. "I know you took it you worthless thief."

Anzu took as step back scared by the man who was becoming more and more furious with each passing second. "I...I have n-no idea what...what you are t-talking about." Anzu managed to say, she was scared now, she was alone in a room with an obviously angered and possibly violent man for all she knew and he was blocking the only way out.

"My money, you little bastard, three hundreds dollars disappeared from my wallet this morning. I know you took it, no one else could get in my room. Do you even have any idea who I am? I'll make you regret trying to steal what is mine. I'll report you to the police and have you expelled back to whatever stinking country you came from." The man took a few steps forward to catch her.

Anzu stepped back, trying to keep a constant distance between them. "I didn't do anything!" She pleaded as tears started to fall down her cheeks out of terror.

"Liar!" He shouted as he grabbed her wrist roughly, right at that moment, the door opened and someone stepped inside the room. "Father? Can you...What's going on here?" The newcomer asked when he saw his father holding a obviously terrorized maid.

Sensing that the older man was momentarily distracted by the intrusion. Anzu quickly pulled her arm out of his grip and dashed for the door, pushing the young man who just entered out of her way. She heard the older man yelling at her, but she didn't care, all she wanted was to put as much distance as possible between them. Never looking back, Anzu ran until she reached a staff bathroom, three levels lower. She closed the door behind her and let herself slide down against the door in a seating position. Her entire body was shaking and she couldn't stop crying, she had never been so afraid in her entire life, never before did she fell so alone and vulnerable. But what she feared most was that this surely wouldn't end here, she was sure he would report her and there was nothing she could do about it, who would believe her over him? She'd never be able to get another job with a criminal file and pay for Juilliard....assuming the weird man won't have her expelled like he threatened to. She was sure he could do it if he wanted.

Anzu didn't move an inch, all her worries and loneliness from the past few weeks catching up to her. She had no idea how much time had passed, maybe 15 minutes or 3 hours, when someone tried to open the door, bumping it in Anzu's back

"Ow..." Anzu groaned softly as she moved a few feet away from the door on her hands and knees. Tears still rolling down her cheeks, she looked up as the door opened again, this time more slowly and a head appeared in the opening. This person, a young girl about Anzu's age with long blond hair , was also wearing a maid uniform. She smiled kindly when she saw Anzu on her knees, in the middle of the bathroom.

"There you are!" She said, getting inside and closing the door behind her. "I was starting to believe you might have left the hotel. "The blond maid sat on the ground next to Anzu. "You wouldn't have been the first one, actually. Mr. Bristel is one of our worst client and has the flaw to be one of our regular ones. At least once a month one of the maid leaves because of him. My mom is going crazy because of that."

"I didn't steal anything." Anzu finally said as she calmed down a little.

"Oh don't worry about that." the other girl said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's all been settle, we know who did it. He explained everything to my mom when he realized what was going on. You don't have to worry about such things. She's a fair woman, she never fires anyone unless they really did something bad."

"Your mom?" Anzu asked, uncertain she heard that right.

"Yea, my mom kinda runs this place." She stood up and dusted he uniform. "I'm Kaytleen Steward, by the way. Your name is Anzu right?" Kaytleen asked, holding out her hand to help Anzu get up.

Anzu nodded weakly as she accepted Kaytleen's hand and with her help, got back on her feet. "Thanks," She said, slightly fixing her uniform.

"Mom said you should take the rest of the day off, this must have been hard on you."

Anzu sighed, truth be told, she wanted nothing more than take a long hot bath and rest. "Thank her for me, alright?" She said.

Kaytleen smiled. "Sure, I have to get back to work now, I'll see you later." the blond girl gave one last encouraging smile to Anzu before rushing out of the bathroom.

Anzu smiled slightly. She wouldn't have any problems, everything would be alright. Before heading outside, Anzu checked herself in the mirror, she looked horrible, quickly, she fixed her hair and removed the remnants of her makeup. When she was satisfied, she left the bathroom and went to the staffroom to change and get her things. She took her time in taking off her uniform and putting on her ordinary clothes, a simple black sleeveless top that strapped around her neck and 3/4 jeans along with platform sandals. She checked herself over in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction, aside from still slightly red eyes, there were no other signs left of what happened earlier.

Anzu was about to leave the staff changing room and the hotel when someone stopped her. "Anzu?" Asked another maid, a woman in her mid thirty, she was the one who trained Anzu. Anzu nodded slowly, a little worried about what the older lady could want with her. The woman smiled encouragingly at her. "Someone in the hall wants to see you." She said, before going back to her duties as quickly as she arrived.

Anzu's breath caught in her throat at those words, who could possibly want to see her? What if that old man still believed she was the thief or her boss changed her mind and decided to fire her to calm the man? Deciding that it was useless to waste time standing there, the young dancer made her way to the hall on wobbly legs, waiting wasn't going to solve anything. The hall was a large and luxurious room that Anzu only got to see once since the staff had to get inside by the back door and her duties never required her to go there. On one side of the room, there was a large reception desk and on the other side, there was a comfortable waiting room, there were a few couches and low tables, the entire room was decorated with huge paintings, expensive furnitures and other things like that.

As she arrived, Anzu's first reaction was one of relief as she couldn't see any cop nor her boss nor the businessman who accused her stealing. Actually, the grand room was pretty much deserted, which made Anzu wonder who could actually wish to see her personally? She didn't even knew anyone in New-York.

"Excuse me..." the unexpected voice gave Anzu a start, she was still edgy from all the emotions she had. She quickly turned around, the voice had come from behind her, she was surprised to see a guy standing behind her, he had probably been waiting for her beside the door. "Can I help you?" She looked him over, trying to see if perhaps she met him somewhere before, but she just couldn't tell who he was. The guy was slightly taller than her and lean, he had long black hair (for a boy anyway), and stunning emerald eyes, he also looked uneasy for some reason Anzu didn't know.

"Your name is Anzu right?"

Anzu nodded slightly, wondering what this guy wanted.

Taking a deep breath and looking directly at her, he finally explained. "I'm Matthew Bristel. I...wanted to apologize for what happened earlier with.....with my father."

Anzu's eyes widened with realization as she suddenly recognized him. He was one who entered the room while she was with Mr. Bristel and the one she pushed out of her way to escape. "Oh...Sorry for pushing you like that." She said sheepishly. If anything, she was glad he arrived when he did. "But you don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything." She added kindly.

"Actually..." Matthew hesitated, lowering his eyes to look at the ground. "All this mess is my fault. I'm the one who took the money." He admitted.

Anzu looked at him with evident confusion. "You stole money from you father?"

Matt shrugged, a cute guilty look on his face. "I didn't thought he would notice. I just...I had a date tonight and I needed money. The black haired guy explained. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this."

"Why didn't you just ask for the money?" Anzu asked. "I'm sure he would have accepted."

"Not with the kind of date I had." Matthew muttered, looking away. Anzu raised an eyebrow, confused by the comment, but before she could ask for more information, he changed the subject. "Anyway, I just wanted to apologize properly, and next time I'll come here, I promise to make it up to you. But I really should go now, if my dad finds out I left the room I'm in for it, he is mad enough as it is. See ya around!" He quickly turned around and started running back to his room, leaving an even more confused Anzu behind.

(End Flashback)

Matt was true to his words. Six weeks later, when his father made another business trip in New-York, he invited her out in a cute little restaurant named 'Juliette en chocolat' which served only deserts. He even told her that, this time, the money was his. They actually had a lot of fun together. The next day, Anzu caught him in a rather compromising situation in the hotel room. That's when she understood what he meant by 'his kind of date'. After that, they became good friends and Matt eventually moved to New-York for school (which was actually imposed by his father) and eventually, they began living together with Kay.

"That was over two years ago and I won't be locked alone in a room with him, you know." Anzu told Kaytleen, smiling back at her. "Beside, what are the chances that he'll actually recognize me?"

"Practically none. I doubt he's the kind of guy to remember a maid, even more one than he almost attacked without any reason, If you ask me, he actually wiped it from his memories." Kaytleen said, but then a knowing smile appeared on her lips. "However, I'm sure Kaiba will."

Anzu froze, she hadn't thought of that. She was going to a business party after all, and a big one from what she was told. Surely the icy-eyed CEO would be there...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

DUH DUH DUNNNNN again lolll

Only one person actually realized that Anzu was most likely to meet Kaiba at the party (she also requested a punch at Kaiba lolll) though I like the idea, it wasn't in my plan. I wouldn't want to put Matt in trouble because his fake girlfriend decided to be violent.

Next chapter will be: The PARTY lollll. And this is where things really get started (for the fourth time lolll) But let me tell you a little spoiler. Our cute little brunet couple will share a dance ohhhhhh. But wait, can Kaiba dance in this fic? Will he make Anzu fall in the fountain? Or 'accidentally' make her fall and break her leg, forever ruining her chances at dancing? You'll find out in the next chapter, which should come out.....let's see, certainly not before Monday of next week. We are making this huge party at my school (that I am forced to help organize as it is to raise money for our graduation party in 4 years) and my friend is coming over all the way from Saguenay Wednesday evening and leaving probably on Monday morning.

Reviews would be greatly appreciated. Seriously, the number of review I'm getting is depressing and if I don't get more, I might consider starting my Sequel to this isn't love right away (which means even slowly updates)


	8. The Ball

Chapter eight: The Ball

Anzu turned around in front of the mirror, checking herself over the the tenth time, she was so stressed about going to the dinner with Matt, sure, she often worked at those kind of formal balls, but she had never been a guest, she wasn't sure how to act or if she had to do anything special. On top of that she would see Matt's father and she wasn't looking forward to it, she had only seen him once and it was enough to last her for a life time, if she had to choose, she's rather be locked in a room for 24 hours with Kaiba than with Jeremiah Bristel.

"Stop stressing so much." Kay told her friend, she was laying on the dancer's bed, watching the young brunette with amusement. "You look absolutely stunning."

Anzu sighed. "I know Kay, but I don't want to put Matt in trouble with his dad."

"My dad would find a reason to complain even if you were the queen of England." Matt said as he appeared in the doorway of Anzu's bedroom. "You look absolutely stunning, trust me, all the guys will be drooling on the floor when they see you." He said with a wink.

Anzu blushed lightly at the compliment as she looked at her reflexion one last time. She was wearing a long, light blue dress that tied around her neck and hugged her forms nicely before flowing more freely around her legs. It was simple, yet sexy and elegant without showing off too much skin. Anzu had pulled her hair up in a lose bun, leaving a few strand of hair falling down on both sides of her face.

"We have to go." Matt said, looking at his watch. "You can count on my father to always be exactly on time. He's probably already outside waiting to scold me." Anzu nodded and they made their way to the door, with Kaytleen close behind.

"Gee I almost wish I was working tonight, this is going to be priceless." She said.

"Thanks for encouraging me." Anzu replied with a light laugh.

"Oh come on, smile a little, you are going to spend one night surrounded by the most snob and self centered jerks of the world." Kaytleen said with a grin as she pushed them outside. "Now, don't have too much fun without me and use protections." She added before closing the door.

"I'm really sorry for making you go through this Anzu." Matthew said as they walked outside of the apartment complex.

Anzu, however, wouldn't hear it. "Don't be ridiculous, you are doing so much for me already, it's only normal that I help you out. Beside I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't."

Matt smiled. "Still, my father has a way to always feel everyone around him feel miserable."

Anzu shrugged. "I've spent my high school with Kaiba, I think I can survive." She said as they stepped outside. Just as Matt had predicted, a black limousine was already waiting in front of the building

The driver of the limo opened the door for them and Matt helped Anzu sit in before sitting behind her. An older man with broad shoulders looked up from some paperwork he was checking over to look at them. Anzu did her best to smile kindly at the man and forget about her previous encounter with the man. "You're late."

"Sorry." Matthew said, though he knew the limo only arrived outside 2 minutes ago. "Dad, this is my friend, Anzu Mazaki. Anzu, this is my father, Jeremiah Bristel."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Anzu greeted him.

Mr. Bristel looked at Anzu, as if judging if she was good enough to be seen with a member of his family. "You're not from here are you?" He finally asked.

"No I'm not. I'm from Japan." Anzu answered.

"And how do you know my son?"

Anzu flinched, the last thing she wanted was for Matt's father to recognize her as the maid he accused of stealing and it sure wouldn't help Matt's situation.

"We met at the hotel." Matt filled in for her. "She was staying there one day that we were there too."

Mr. Bristel frowned. "And what are you doing in life?"

Anzu stiffened before looking at Matt for some help, but he didn't seem to have any answer to give either, however, they were saved when Mr. Bristel cell phone rang and the man quickly forgot about their presence.

* * *

Matt's father only hung up only when they arrived in front of the Casa Loma hotel, where the dinner was to be held. Mr. Bristel was the first one to get out of the car, once they were alone, Matt turned to Anzu and smiled reassuringly. "Ok, so when we get out it's going to be a little crazy but don't worry about it, just smile and don't answer any question they might ask."

Anzu nodded, she had a good enough idea of what awaited her outside the limo, but it was the first time she would actually live it herself. Matt stepped out and he offered her his hand to help her. Anzu took one last deep breath before taking his hand and leave the safety of the limo. People all around her started to take pictures, blinding her with the flashes as she was swarmed with questions about herself and their relationship, Matt also receive the same treatment but he just smiled and walked up the steps to the entrance, keeping Anzu close to him.

Once in the hotel's safety, Anzu sighed and started breathing again, that had to be one of the most overwhelming experience of her life. Matt looked at her and smiled. "So, your first red carpet, how was it?"

Anzu laughed slightly. "It was.....scary."

"Better get used to it." He added with a wider smile. "After all, soon you'll be the world's most famous dancer and you will have your own personal mob following you around."

Anzu blushed as she followed Matt inside the the ball room, he was always so supportive of her. The room had been decorated specifically for the occasion, she was always amazed and impressed by all the various decorations in the room each time she came, it was always different but she never had the time to really look at it. On one side of the room there were tables, while on the other there were around 30 tables. About two hundred people were already there, some sitting at the tables or just standing in a corner conversing while a few where already dancing. She recognized a few face amongst the men and women, some where actors, others where politician or just rich people in general.

"So, what do we do now?" Anzu asked, seeing that Matt's father had completely ditched them....not that she minded anyway.

"Now?" Matt asked. "I do believe I owe you a dance." He said, taking her hand in his and leading her to the dance floor.

Anzu was actually surprised by Matt's skill as he swiftly moved with her on the dance floor. "I didn't know you could dance." She noted. "I'm impressed."

Matthew smiled. "It's nothing really, it's part of the job definition, everyone here knows how to dance."

"Even Kaiba?" She joked.

"I've never seen him dance I doubt he ever does." Matt admitted. "But I'm sure he knows how to, his little brother does and he's really good at it."

"Really? I just can't imagine Mokuba dancing with girls. He sure grew a lot since the last time I saw him. Too bad he's not around, I would have liked to see him."

They danced for a while, until Anzu started noticing that she was getting a lot of attention from the other young girls....and not in a good way. "I feel like all the girls are looking at me." She said.

Matt only chuckled. "Of course they are, I may not usually look like it, but I'm still the only heir of the Bristel's fortune and company. I usually make it to the top 10 of America's most eligible bachelor."

Anzu laughed, ignoring all the nasty glares she received. "Be careful, if your ego gets to big you'll end up looking like Kaiba." She joked.

"I don't think that's even humanly possible. I swear the real Kaiba must have died years ago and was replaced by some sort of robot look alike."

They talked and danced for a while, neither of them noticed that the girls were not the only ones staring at Anzu. A pair of icy blue eyes was following Anzu's every movements on the dance floor. Kaiba was standing not far away from the dance floor, he was in the middle of a conversation with two other businessman, talking about a possible deal, when a swirl of blue caught his eyes. His eyes moved on his own toward the dance floor when he saw a beautiful woman dancing, yes, he did thought she was attractive, but as he looked again, he almost chocked as he realized it was Anzu.

What was she doing here, dancing and all dressed up? He actually expected to see her since he knew she worked here, but she actually looked like a guest.....which made him wonder, who would actually bring the little cheerleader to such a place? He looked at the person she was dancing with, he was actually surprised when he saw who she was dancing with, it was the Bristel brat. He didn't know the two knew one another, that was unexpected, he didn't know much about Matthew, actually, nothing much was actually known about him, he usually was the silent type and was almost never seen outside of social events.

But Anzu's presence with him intrigued the CEO, he knew Jeremiah Bristel to be on the conservative type and he was extremely careful of his image. Surely he wouldn't think highly of his son bringing someone of Anzu's social status here, which made him believe the older businessman didn't know the truth about his son's 'girlfriend'...which gave him an advantage over Mazaki, this could be interesting.

* * *

Soon, dinner was announced so Anzu and Matt had to leave the dance floor and made their way to their assigned table, where, of course, Matt's father was most likely waiting, ready to continue his survey on Anzu. However, Mr. Bristel was already in deep conversation with someone else when they reached their table and he barely noticed them, not that either of them were going to complain. Against his wishes, Matt had to participate in the discussion, knowing his father would scold him later if he didn't. Anzu tried to listen, but she found that she didn't understand much and what she did understand was extremely boring, so she was left with nothing better to do than listen to two of the businessmen wifes talk about the latest gossips concerning people she didn't even know, commenting every now and then to not sound impolite. Overall, the dinner was really boring and Anzu hoped it would be over soon.

Once dinner was over and people started to rise and move around, Anzu decided it was safe to go and explore a little so she excused herself from the table, and stood up. She walked around a little, glad to be away from the old women, she was never one for useless gossiping and girl stuff, after all, she did hang out with guys after all. And after they became interested in her relationship with Matt, Anzu decided that she had enough. She found a quiet corner, looked outside the window and let her thoughts wander, until she was interrupted.

"I never thought Bristel would drop so low to the point of buying a hotel employee to pose as his girlfriend."

Anzu turned around and glared at Kaiba, who was standing only a few inches away from her. "If you must know, Matt is one of my best friends." She replied.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "In that case, I assume his father actually knows that you are nothing more than your everyday girl without any status." Anzu tensed, not by much, but enough for Kaiba to see, and Anzu knew he had her exactly where he wanted her. The CEO smirked. "And what are you giving me for my silence?" He asked, taking one step closer, making Anzu uncomfortable. "I'm sure Bristel wouldn't like hearing his loser of a son actually brought a lowly little servant and future club dancer to such an important event."

Anzu frowned. "Listen Kaiba, I know you don't like me, but this isn't about me, can you just not say anything?" She pleaded with him, she knew she didn't have much choice in the matter and making Kaiba mad at her would only end up in disaster.

"And why should I?"

"I'm just asking you as a favor." Anzu answered him, she was determined to not lose her cool and not fall in his game.

"A favor?" He repeated with a smirk. "You should know me better than to ask me for a favor."

Anzu sighed. "Fine, what do you want." She was here to help out Matt, but if his father found out she was a total nobody, it might create even more troubles for her friend, she knew she wasn't good enough for Jeremiah's standard.

Kaiba smirked as he leaned closer to Anzu. "I've been really bored actually. If you, let's say, 'entertain' me, I might consider keeping silent." He wasn't really going to go through with it, of course, but he was curious as to how far the little brunette would go for his friend. And of course, he enjoyed making her angry.

Anzu's eyes grew wide with indignation but before she could say anything, Matt stepped in. "Back off Kaiba."

Kaiba dropped the act and turned around to look at Matthew, who was standing behind him. "No need to get all defensive Bristel. Mazaki and I are just having a friendly conversation."

Matthew smirked, a smirk that Anzu had never seen on him before, it looked so much like Kaiba's it was almost scaring her. "Is that right. I didn't know you were low enough to blackmail a girl into sleeping with you. That's quite pathetic actually."

Kaiba stiffened as he glared down at Matthew, who didn't appear impressed at all by the height difference. "Careful Bristel, or I might slip in front of your father about where you found your little date, I'm sure he wouldn't be pleased."

Matt merely shrugged. "Feel free to do so. You think I didn't thought you would be here? Or that I didn't think about the possibility that my father might find out? You think I cower in fear in front of him? That's the difference between us, Kaiba. I actually stand up for myself in front of my father, I don't let him bend me to his likings, unlike you."

If looks could kill, Matt would have been dead a thousand times over before his body even hit the ground, but he only stared up at the CEO with indifference, completely unaffected. "You know nothing." Kaiba hissed, taking a few slow steps closer to Matthew. "I'll make you regret saying those words." He added before walking away.

Matthew watched his retreating back for a while and shrugged, turning back to his usual, careless, self. "I think I angered him." He noted. "Are you ok?" He asked, turning toward Anzu.

Anzu was staring at him with wide eyes as if he had grown a second head. "Y-yea, I'm ok....I just.........never thought you had it in you to stand up to Seto Kaiba."

Matthew grinned. "I told you, I may not usually look like it, but I'm still the only heir of the Bristel family, my father is one of the most powerful people of this country. I just usually don't like fighting so I avoid it if I can, but I'm not going to let a bastard like Kaiba insult you like that."

"Are you sure you are going to be ok? I did seem really mad at you." Anzu was worried, she was well placed to know just how far Kaiba was ready to go when he wanted to get back at someone and she feared he might hurt Matt.

Matthew simply smiled. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself." He said, taking her hand and leading her back to the dance floor.

The rest of the evening was mostly uneventful, they danced or just hung out, overall it wasn't as bad as Anzu expected, she actually even had a lot of fun, if you forget her short encounter with Kaiba. She did tried to find him after, scanning the crowd every now and then, but she found no sign of him, he had already left. Matt kept telling her not to worry about it, but she couldn't shake away the feeling that someway or another, Kaiba would find a way to hurt her friend.

* * *

OMG that was such a long wait for an update, I'm so so so sorry. You have no idea how hard it was for me to write this chapter, it just always sucked so much no matter how I turned it. I just finally managed to write one that doesn't suck so much. I actually have been really busy too...so I didn't have much time either. Also, I'm sorry to tell you but: **I'm leaving on a trip starting Mai 26****th**. Therefore, I will probably not be able to write for the duration of the trip, maybe I will, but I prefer not to give you false hope. **I should get back around June 21****th****.** If I find myself unable to write during the trip, I still promise to update before the 1st of July, and after that I should be able to update more.

Next chapter: Kaiba get's his revenge on Matt and lots of nice and less nice things will happen.


	9. Wrath

Chapter nine: Wrath.

It had been three weeks since Anzu went to the ball with Matt. Overall, she had a lot of fun, they spent most of the time dancing, which was a good way to avoid any unwanted question from the other guest of Matt's father. Anzu did not hear of Kaiba since then, but she just couldn't shake up this feeling inside of her that he was up to no good, especially after what Matt told him. She didn't know much about Kaiba's father, but she knew it was a sensible subject that anyone who wanted to live avoided religiously in front of the blue eyed CEO. Even thought Matt kept telling her she was being paranoid, she couldn't stop herself from worrying..She knew how passionate Kaiba could be about making people he held a grudge against suffer...

Anzu sighed as she stood up after looking under the couch, she was looking for a school book she needed, but so far she couldn't find it anywhere and it was starting to bother her, she had to leave for school and she needed that book _now_. Frustrated, she went to Matt's room for help. "Hey Matt, have you se-" But she stopped abruptly as soon as she glanced inside his room, she backed out as quickly as she came in. "Oh for god's sake, Matt. Close your door!" The only answer she got was a low chuckle as she made her way back to the kitchen. She was never going to get used to that. After stalling for almost a month, Matt finally had the courage to ask Rylan out, she didn't really mind that....but she felt there were some things she didn't need to see.

A few minutes later, Matt, wearing only slack pair of jeans, joined Anzu in the kitchen as she was making herself a quick breakfast. "Good morning." He said, a little tint on red on his cheek.

"Morning." Anzu answered, she too had a light shade of pink on her face.

"Sorry about that." Matt said with a small laugh.

Anzu smiled. "Oh it's alright, I just saw my best friend and the guy I work with making out half naked. I'm just traumatized for life." She joked.

"Oh come on, we weren't even doing anything...yet" Rylan said as he joined them in the kitchen. "You know, if you stopped forgetting your stuff at the job..." He handed Anzu her school book. "Those things wouldn't happen." He said with a grin.

Anzu sighed as she grabbed the book. "Thanks, I...I have to go." She said, still embarrassed. "I'll see you later."

Once Anzu had left, Rylan laid against the counter and smiled. "So, you want to do something after my shift tonight?" He asked with a grin

Matt sighed. "I wish I could, but I have to go back home. Family dinner." He said. "Anyway, I have to go too, my dad will kill me if I don't ace the next exam."

Rylan shook his head. "Your dad really seem to be rough on you." He followed Matt outside of the apartment.

"You can say that again." Matt said, shaking his head as they both walked out.

* * *

Kaiba was almost smiling as he patiently waited in the empty office. He was what could be considered happy, as happy as Seto Kaiba could get. For the first time since he came to America, he had the upper hand and he knew it, it didn't matter to him that Bristel was making him wait on purpose just to annoy him, nothing could spoil his mood. After making him lose 20 minutes of his time, Jeremiah Bristel finally entered his office, swiftly walked behind his desk, all the way looking at Kaiba with a superior air, the younger CEO simply stared back with a bored expression.

"This is better be good." Mr. Bristel said as he sat down on his chair. "_I_ am a busy person."

Kaiba smirked, comfortably seating in the chair. He knew how much that would upset Bristel, the older man was such a strict person, he couldn't accept anything but perfection, that side of him reminded Kaiba of his own adopted father...which only added to the long list of things he hated about the other businessman. For a moment there it almost made him feel bad for what he was about to do...almost, but the little bastard deserved it.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't take much of your precious time." He said, his smirk widening. "What I want is really simple. You are going to back out of the deal with Johnson."

Jeremiah stared at him for a second before started laughing, Johnson company was one of the biggest one in America and his latest association offer was the biggest deal of the year, whoever managed to get it would have his profits assured for at least the next three years. Of course Mr. Bristel was in the best position to make the deal. "That has to be the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Why would I ever let you have that deal?"

Kaiba smiled, an omen of bad luck to whoever saw it. "Because if you don't...tomorrow morning this picture will be on the first page of all the newspapers." He saw as he threw a picture on the desk.

Mr. Bristel frowned as he picked up the picture, he barely glanced at it before his eyes widened.

"I believe you recognize your son."

* * *

Matt sighed, looking at the big mansion in front of him, once every week he had to come here for a family dinner with his dad, which meant once a week he had to come over and listen to his father repeat day after day how much of a disappointment he was. He took a deep breath at he walked up the way to the front door. The door opened barely 5 seconds after he knocked, the butcher, an old strict man, looked down at him with cold eyes. Matt stared back at him with the same look, he never liked that man, and he knew the butcher felt the same. The older man moved out of the way to let the teen in the mansion.

Matt made his way to the dinning room, it was better to make this quick and get it over with until the next week. However, he found the dinning room to be completely empty, the table wasn't even set. He frowned, usually his father was already seated and complained about him being late, it wasn't like him to be late anywhere. He prepared himself for the worst as he turned around and went to check his father's home office.

The door was already opened, he looked inside, his father was seated behind his desk, looking down at something. Matthew frowned, something was wrong, he knocked on the door to get his father's attention. Jeremiah looked up at him, the look he gave him send shills up Matthew's spine...he was in trouble. "Father, is something wrong?" He asked.

Jeremiah sat up straight in his chair and glared at his son. "Come here, and close the door." He said, his voice dripping with anger.

Matt took a deep breath, he entered the office and closed the door behind him before walking up to the desk. His father threw something in front of him, silently, Matt picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture....a picture of him with Rylan on one of their date...a picture of them kissing. Panicked, he looked up at his father to explain, but the man didn't let him say a word.

"Do you have any idea how much your stupidity just cost me?" Mr. Bristel yelled so loud it made Matt flinch. "I just lost the most important deal of the year because of you. So this wouldn't be all over the news?"

Matt frowned. "You didn't have to." He replied, trying to stay calm.

"And have the entire world see you in that disgusting display of misplaced affection?" His father yelled back.

"What I do with my life is none of your business!" Matthew shot back.

His father grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer. "Oh yes it is, you are my son, the heir of the Bristel empire and I won't let you destroy everything I worked so hard to build for..._This_." He said, gesturing to the picture with disgust. "I did what I had to so this picture will not be seen. You will not see that _boy_ anymore, am I clear?."

"No-"

His father backhanded him before he could say anything else, sending Matt on the ground. "You are my son and will do what I tell you." He yelled, glaring at him with all his might. Matt stared up at his father in shock as he raised his hand to his sore cheek. Silently, he stood up and turned around to leave the office. "If you leave now, you are not my son anymore."

Math looked back over his shoulder, his face showing just how hurt he was as he stared at his dad before looking down and walking out of the office. He quickly made his way down the stairs and toward the front door, he always knew it would come down t this one day, but he never expected today to be that day and he never thought his father would learn it that way. As he reached the front door, he stopped and turned around, it was true he never really liked that place, but it was still his home, and he still loved his father, but right now, he knew he couldn't do anything to make his father accept him. He took one final deep breath before opening the door and walking out if his father's mansion.

He ignored the limo that was waiting for him, he didn't want to take it, it was still early and he needed to think before going back home and the two hours it took him to travel from his father's mansion back to his apartment by public transportation was just what he needed to process what just happened. As soon as he walked through the front gate, he felt someone was watching him, he looked up from the ground and saw him, then, he understood everything. Matt frowned, staring at Kaiba as he was casually leaning on his black limo, his arm crossed and a mocking smirk on his face as he stared back at him. At first, Matt was tempted to cross the street and tell him a piece of his mind, but finally deciding against it, he was not going to give him that satisfaction so he forced himself to tear his gaze away from him and leave.

* * *

Anzu quickly walked inside the Kaiba Corp. she walked straight for the elevators. She was mad, no, mad wasn't a strong enough word to describe all the hatred and anger she felt toward a certain blue eyes stuck up bastard of a CEO and she was going to give him a piece of his mind even if it was the last thing she did. As soon as the door opened, on the last floor of the building, Anzu walked straight for the large door in front of her, not sparing a glance at the secretary who asked her if she had an appointment.

She stormed inside Kaiba's office without knocking, still not paying any attention to the panicked secretary behind her. She stopped in front of Kaiba's desk and glared heatedly at the CEO, she couldn't remember ever being so mad at someone. Kaiba stopped his work and looked up at the fuming brunette, unimpressed by the sudden intrusion, he almost looked bored as he motioned to his secretary to leave, but Anzu could swear she saw satisfaction hidden in the back of his cold, emotionless eyes.

"What did you do?" She spat out, her voice cold and accusing.

"You know, it's not really mature of you to storm in here without even knocking." Was it's only answer.

"Oh spare me the crap Kaiba. What did you do to Matt? And don't even try lying to me, I know it was you."

Kaiba dropped the bored facade and smirked. "I simply made a little deal with Bristel. I shut up about his son's preference for guys and he stays out of my way "

Anzu stared at him in shock, how could Kaiba know about that?

Kaiba chuckled. "If he didn't want his little dirty secret to be known, he should have hid it better."

Anzu glared at him. "How could you do something like that?"

The blue eyed CEO smirked. "Simple, I am a worldwide known heartless bastard, after all."

"You're actually enjoying this." She said, more to herself than to him. "You really are pathetic."

A dangerous expression appeared on Kaiba's face. "What did you just say?"

Anzu only glared more fiercely as she got closer to the desk and slightly leaned over it. "You heard me. Even though I'm a nobody, an unimportant part of this world, I'm surrounded by friends, and family, I'm living my dream and I'm happy." Anzu smirked almost evilly as she continued. "And it bothers you, because you, Mr. Almighty CEO, even with all your money and power, you have nothing, no dream, no friend, even Mokuba doesn't want to be with you anymore. Face it, you are miserable and you can't stand the fact that I am happy."

Anzu's words took Kaiba by surprise, but more than anything, they angered him, but before he could make her face his wrath, she had turned around and left. "Enjoy the rest of your pathetic, lonely life Kaiba!" She told him over her shoulder, slamming the door shut behind her as she left the office.

Kaiba was left alone to glare at the door, he was angry, angry at her because of what she said, but at the same time, angry because her words affected him. They shouldn't. He shouldn't even care what she said so why did her words angered him so much?

* * *

Whew, that chapter was so hard to write. I am terribly sorry for this....2 months delay, no I'm not stopping writing yet, but after my trip I ended up spending the entire summer with my friend so I really didn't have the time. But I just started school today so now I'm falling into a routine again, I will do my best to update more this year, since I moved, I should be feeling more like it, I already like this place so much more. I actually just got my ass wiped at Mario Kart on the 64 by my roommate and a classmate who is always over XD.

Next chapter: Mokuba is back in town!!!!!!!


	10. The ugly truth

Nothing to say about this chapter, it's self explanatory.

Chapter 10: The ugly truth.

Coming all the way from Japan to America was one freaking long ride, even when your older brother owned a private jet with any kind en entertainment a sixteen years old could want but 14 hours in a plane were still 14 hours too much. Mokuba didn't like traveling, he just lost an entire day sitting on a chair doing various things from playing video games, watching movies, reading, he even did his homeworks. The plane finally landed, but that was barely any good news, he still had a good two hours stuck in traffic before finally reaching home, so yes, he was more than irritated when the door finally opened and he stepped out of the plane. The flight attendant bowed her head as he passed in front of her but Mokuba ignored her, he also ignored the greeting of the driver as he got into the limo that was waiting for him only a few meters from the plane. Roland followed him, smiling apologetically to both the flight attendant and the driver for his younger master's behavior. Mokuba was already seated in the back, his elbow against the side of the door, his head laying on his hand, staring outside with an expression of mixed boredom and irritation.

Roland couldn't help but smile at the sight, back when he was still assigned as the eldest Kaiba's bodyguard, he often found himself in the very same situation, in which Seto had the exact same expression his little brother now had. When he was irritated or in a bad mood, Mokuba looked and acted so much like his older brother it was disconcerting, Roland doubted the youngest Kaiba was even aware of it.

Mokuba was tired, jet lagged and he had a major headache, which the noise of the cars and horns was only making worst right now he only wanted to go home, take a long hot shower and go to bed for the next two days. But before he could do that he had to go and see his brother, that was the only reason he crossed half the globe after all and he would feel bad about not at least go and tell him he had arrived safely. He wasn't sure he felt like it, though, he was torn between his desire to see his older brother and the knowledge that he was only going to get even more frustrated by his older brother's attitude.

The limo stopped, stuck in traffic once again, Mokuba looked outside and sighed, he was close, close enough that he could do the rest on foot, it would be faster anyway. He unfastened his seatbelt, opened the door and got onto the crowded street. He took a moment to stretch his stiff body then started walking toward the building, which was about 10 minutes away by foot. He didn't need to look back to know that Roland was following him, far enough behind him not to invade his privacy but close enough to act quickly if needed.

Which each step he took, Mokuba could feel his anxiety growing. Why did things have to be so complicated between them? He should be overjoyed about seeing his brother after two months, not apprehensive. He should see the same happiness he used to see in Seto's eyes whenever he ran up to him as he got back from a business trip when he was a kid. But he knew none of that would happen, Seto would be too busy working to even look at him, there would be this same cold distance separating them and he would leave feeling frustrated and betrayed. When did things change so much?

Only thinking about it almost made his eyes water, he closed them to stop himself from crying and shook his head, as he opened them, he saw a small café not far in front of him, he made his way toward it on shaky legs, he needed something strong if he wanted to make it through. A little bell chimed as he opened the door, he looked around, it was a small and cozy place, just what he needed to relax a little before facing his brother. He walked to the counter just as someone was coming from the back store, most likely alerted of his presence by the bell. As soon as she arrived they both froze, looking at one another as if not believing what they saw.

"Mokuba!" Anzu said, excited. She quickly walked around the counter and hugged him tightly. Mokuba hugged her back just as tightly, though he was still confused by her presence here.

"Funny meeting you here, you know, I might start to think that you are stalking me or something." Mokuba said, after she let him go. He smiled at her, for a moment all his problems disappeared, Anzu always had that effect on him, her mere presence always made him feel better, maybe because she was the only female influence in his life and she was always ready to listen to him and help him out.

"I work here, silly. What does it look like?" She said. "Since when are you around?" She asked.

Mokuba sighed as everything came back to him all at once. "I just arrived, actually. I simply happened to stop here on my way to Kaiba Corp." He explained.

Anzu's eyes softened at those words. "You came to see your brother for his birthday." She said, sitting down on a chair and indicating to Mokuba to do the same. "So, how are things between you two?"

Mokuba frowned. "Still at the same point. I haven't seem him in person since the last time I came and every time I tried calling him it always ended up in an argument."

Anzu sighed, she stood up from the chair and went back behind the corner as some clients arrived, she served them as quickly as she could so she could go back to Mokuba. However, some more clients came in, Anzu knew she wouldn't be able to have a real conversation with Mokuba like that

Mokuba stood up and came to her. "I guess I came at a bad time." He could see that Anzu wanted to be with him right now, that she could see how much he wanted and needed it, but she was at work and even though he knew she'd just drop it if he asked her he didn't want to put her into trouble. It wasn't like he actually came here to see her, it was just a coincidence. "I'll come back another time. I'm here for a few days." He turned around to leave, Roland close behind.

"Wait!" Anzu called him. Mokuba turned around, Anzu handed him a steaming cup, looking at him apologetically. "Here. I put lots and lots of chocolate in it, just as you like it."

Mokuba smiled as he took the cup, that she remembered just how much he loved chocolate touched him deeply. "Thanks. I'll call you soon." He said before walking out.

He quickly made him way to Kaiba Corp. letting the hot chocolate calm his nerve. The building was locked when Mokuba arrived, business hours where long over as it was almost 9 in the evening but he knew his brother would be here, he used his access card to get in and quickly made his way to the elevator, he didn't like walking around in the empty lobby, it was freaking him out. Once he got out of the elevator on his brother's office level, his slightly improved mood was ruined instantly as he saw the secretary seated behind her desk. Mokuba didn't like her, he knew his brother had slept with her on more than one occasion. He knew it was a way his brother found to relieve himself of stress, he knew his brother didn't believe in love and would probably never be capable of sentimental attachment to another, but that didn't mean Mokuba approved his actions. Maybe he was even actually jealous of those women because his brother went to them and not to him.

Whatever it might be, Mokuba ignored the woman as he passed in front of her and entered his brother's office. It was empty, but since his secretary was still there, Mokuba knew his brother was somewhere in the building, he just had to wait for him...

* * *

Kaiba entered his office after telling his secretary she could leave for the day, he was scanning some documents she just handed him as he walked straight for his desk. However, halfway there, he stopped. Something just wasn't right. He looked up from the documents to look around, his eyes landed on Mokuba, who was fast asleep on couch he had in his office, he scolded himself mentally, he had actually forgot that his brother would be arriving today.

His eyes softened at the sight, thinking about all those time Mokuba would fall asleep like that in his office while waiting for him to finish his work, until he finally gave up on him a few years ago. How long at it been since he last saw his brother look so relaxed and carefree around him? Kaiba knelt down next to his brother and slowly raised a hand to wake him up, but before he even touched him, as if sensing his presence, Mokuba jerked awake.

As his eyes snapped open, all traces of kindness disappeared from Kaiba's face and he straightened himself up, his defensive walls raising instantly. Mokuba didn't miss that, though he tried not to show it, he was used to his brother shinning him out like that now, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt him to know his own brother didn't trust him anymore. "Hi." He said. "What time is it?" He rubbed his eyes to get rid of the tiredness as he sat up on the couch.

"Ten thirty six." Kaiba answered mechanically as he went to his desk. Both of them felt silent, it was an uncomfortable silence, well at least it was for Mokuba, Kaiba just started working again like nothing was going on. "You should go to bed." Kaiba finally said after a few minutes.

Mokuba sighed. "I'd hope that we could spend some time together. I haven't seen you on two months."

"I have work to do." Kaiba answered without looking up from the computer. "You just got here and your exhausted, we'll have time later."

Mokuba snorted. "No we won't, you'll just keep working until I leave."

Kaiba sighed tiredly, it felt like they had that discussion over a thousand time already. "Mokuba, I do not feel like having this argument again. I have work to do, you should understand that by now." He used the tone he always used to indicate that he was not going to change his mind and that the conversation was over, that usually made Mokuba understand and leave, but not today.

Mokuba frowned. "If you don't want me to come than just say so and I'll do us both a favor and save myself the trouble." He said angrily, he was exhausted and irritated out of his mind, he didn't cross half the globe for his brother to just shove him away like that.

Kaiba looked up at that last comment. "I did not ask you to come." He commented

Mokuba stared at him in shock, that cut deep, though Kaiba didn't exactly say he didn't want him around, that still hurt. He glared at his brother, his face a mix of anger, betrayal and hurt but he didn't say anything, what could he answer to that anyway? He turned around and left before his brother could see him cry, slamming the door of the office behind him.

* * *

Mokuba stared up at the ceiling of his hotel room, laying down on the large king sized bed. He had refused to go to his brother's home after their last encounter, though he knew his chances of actually meeting Kaiba in his own house were close to none, he still didn't want to go. It had been two days since he arrived. He spent those two days waiting for his brother to apologizes to him, to tell him he was being ridiculous or even to flat out insult him, but he got nothing so far.

Tonight was his brother's birthday, that was why he came here, to spend this day with him and instead he was sulking alone in a hotel. The younger Kaiba took a deep breath as he sat up on the bed, he knew that if he ever wanted things to get solved he would have to make the first step. So he made up his mind and stood up, he was going to talk to his brother once and for all, he was not going to leave before he got the answers he wanted.

* * *

He once again found his brother's office empty, it was so like him not to even care about his own birthday and work the entire day as if it was any other day, to him it was a waste of time to even think about his birthday. So, Mokuba sat down on his brother's chair, because it was so much more comfortable, and settled himself to wait a long time. It was almost 8 in the evening when the door of the office finally opened, Mokuba had been waiting for almost two hours.

Kaiba stopped for a moment when he saw Mokuba sitting behind his desk and sighed. "You're still here." He noted, walking to his desk and putting bis briefcase on it.

Mokuba frowned. "It's your birthday, of course I'd be here."

"I don't have time for this, Mokuba."

Mokuba sighed. "Seto, it's 8, your the only one even left working and it's your birthday. Don't you think you could take at least one evening off? The company won't disappear if you leave the building, you know."

"I still have work to do." Kaiba repeated, opening his computer.

Mokuba got out of his brother's chair and looked up at him. "It will still be there tomorrow, I'll even do it for you first thing tomorrow morning. I'm sure you didn't eat yet, come on, we could go out and get something to eat and maybe talk a little...you've been getting distant lately..."

Kaiba suddenly glared at him. "Mokuba, my time is precious, I do not care that it is my birthday, I do not want to go out and if I haven't talked with you lately maybe it is because I to not _want_ to."

Mokuba's eyes widened slightly. "Why?" He asked, trying his best to keep a clam voice. "Seto talk to me, I'm sure whatever is going on we can solve it but how can I help you if won't tell me what's wrong. What did I do? Just tell me!" He asked, tears falling down his cheeks as he grabbed his brother's arm.

Kaiba jerked his arm away as he glared down harshly at Mokuba. "You ruined my life, that's what you did." Mokuba took a step back, Kaiba's words having the same effect as a punch. Kaiba still glared down at him. "All my life I've been stuck taking care of you, making sure that you had everything you needed, I gave everything away for you. And for what? So that you could be happy. And in the end, what did I get? Nothing. I_ lost_ everything."

"...You still have me." Mokuba said softly, tears falling from his eyes.

Kaiba snorted coldly before glaring even more at Mokuba. "Yea, I have you around everyday as a constant reminder of all the pain and suffering you made me go through. Each time you smile, each time you laugh, each time I even look at you I am reminded of everything I gave away for you, everything that you took from me. You made me lose my childhood, my dreams, my happiness, my freedom, _everything. _You knew what was going on!" Kaiba accused. "You knew what he was doing to me, how he was treating me, you never told me I didn't have to go through that, you never told me you wanted this to stop, you never said you didn't want me to suffer like that, you never asked me to leave this place, you were happy stayed there, knowing just how much I was suffering for your happiness. And after all that, even now I'm still supposed to take care of you? You completely destroyed my life and I hate you for it, I wish you'd just vanish from my life."

Mokuba didn't dare look up at his brother, he kept his head low as he turned around and slowly walked out of the office. What could he possibly answer to that? He could have yelled, protested, even hit his brother, but he didn't, he couldn't, his brother's words completely broke him. He softly closed the door of Kaiba's office, slowly, as if in a trance, Mokuba went to the elevator and rode down to the first floor, silent tears running down his cheek. He crossed the deserted lobby and walked outside where his limo was waiting in front of the building.

Roland was waiting for him outside the limo, talking with the driver, as Mokuba arrived. The youngest Kaiba stopped in front of him, still not looking up. "We're going home, back to Japan." He said in a dull voice before getting in the limo and closing the door. Both the driver and Roland exchanged worried looks before the driver took his seat and Roland followed Mokuba inside.

Roland observed Mokuba as the limo swiftly moved in the empty streets, the teen had his head bowed, laying against the window of the door, his eyes were closed but he could clearly see the trails his tears left on his cheek. Usually, when the two brother had a fight, which actually happened every time they were together, Mokuba would get angry, snap at everyone and act very much like the Kaiba he was. But this? Roland didn't think he ever saw his young master look so lifeless.

The silence was interrupted by the sound of screeching tires, Mokuba's eyes snapped open just in time to see two headlights, before he could even register what was going on he felt a sudden, unbearable pain all over his body before everything disappeared...

* * *

Roland awoke to a throbbing pain on the left side of his head, he could hear people yelling over the persistent sound of a car horn. He grunted as he tried to move, his entire body was sore. He slowly opened his eyes to see what had happened, he blinked a few time to clear his vision. He was staring up at the ceiling of the limo, dark spots were staining the beige material. He slowly turned his head to the right, he saw another car crushed into the side of the limo. His eyes widened, he looked in front of his, to a sight that would probably hunt him for the rest of his life...Mokuba was laying lifeless on the seat in front of him, covered in blood, his gray eyes wide open, staring blankly straight ahead.

* * *

And another chapter done, now I just killed Mokuba so you better review to this chapter like it deserves (that's what you get for not reviewing enough) ahahahahahahahaha


	11. For Mokuba

Ok, as it seems a few of you are having trouble understanding exactly what is going on, I guess I should have expected it, since I'm probably older than a lot of you, but in the next chapter, you'll have all the explanation you'll need.

Chapter 11: For Mokuba

All the pain, it disappeared instantly when Roland laid eyes on Mokuba, quickly, he undid his seatbelt and knelled in from of his small boss still body. Expertly, he put his hand to Mokuba's neck to find a pulse but failed, the teen was not breathing either. Roland bit his lips, he knew first aid but it was completely useless at that point, Mokuba's body was covered with blood, he had a large cut on the side of his head, his entire left side was covered with injury and he was sure there had to be severe internal trauma.

After trying to find Mokuba's pulse, Roland quickly, yet carefully, picked the younger Kaiba in his arm and pulled him out of the limo. As soon as he came out, witnesses came to him, helping him put Mokuba on the ground. It all happened too fast, yet at the same time it appeared to take forever to Roland in his hazed state. Paramedics quickly arrived at the scene, less than two minutes after the accident, they quickly pushed everyone aside and started their work. One of them took Roland apart and checked him, the bodyguard was too overwhelmed by what was going on to resist but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Mokuba as two other paramedics did their best to get any life sign out of him.

He watched helplessly as one took out a portable defibrillator and removed what was left of Mokuba's shirt as the other one placed a tube down his throat and pumped air in his lungs, both trying hopelessly to bring the teen back to life. The first one placed the electrodes on Mokuba's chest and yelled "Clear!" Mokuba's body jerked slightly under the electric shock, the defibrillator beeped once before the lane became flat again. After waiting a few second, she repeated the gesture, nothing happened, a third time, still nothing. Roland silently prayed to every god he knew of as she tried a forth, and probably last time, to get Mokuba's heart to start again.

His body jerked because of the shock, half a second passed before Mokuba suddenly half coughed half choked violently, his eyes closing, the cardiac monitor picked up a weak heartbeat. Almost instantly, they moved him on a stretcher and took him inside the waiting ambulance. Roland wanted to follow him, but now that the adrenaline rush was out, his entire body was aching, he could barely move, he could only pray that Mokuba would be able to survive until they took him to the hospital, as the ambulance disappeared.

* * *

"ANZU! COME QUICK!"

Anzu lazily opened her eye and glared at Matt, who had just stormed into her bedroom and woke her up. "What?" She asked, almost whining.

"Something happened. It's Mokuba." Matt said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of bed and toward the living room. "There was an accident." He said, pointing the TV.

Anzu's eyes widened as she looked at the screen, on it was the remains of a black limo and another car behind a blond woman who was covering the accident. "-Witnesses says the CEO's younger brother was deadly injured and had to be reanimated by paramedics before his transport to the hospital. We do not know of his condition yet, both the hospital and Seto Kaiba refused to do any comment. The driver of the limo was killed instantly and the driver of the other car, as well as a bodyguard present in the limousine with the young Kaiba both suffered minors injury."

All tiredness left Anzu as soon as she heard the news, Mokuba was badly injured, maybe even dead, she kept staring blankly at the screen as the lady kept talking, giving in more details about the cause of the accidents and witnesses testimonies. "Go get dressed." Anzu snapped out of her trance as Matt put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take you there."

* * *

The hospital ground was calm enough, considering what was going on, the guards wouldn't let reporters came anywhere near the hospital so they wouldn't trouble other patients, they got inside without any problem, Anzu was so pale the security guard thought she was sick and let them in. As soon as the car stopped in the hospital parking, Anzu got out and quickly walked inside the hospital, Matt close behind. She walked straight for the front desk and asked for Mokuba. The old lady looked up at her with suspicious eyes, clearly she wasn't the first one to ask for the teen, and she was probably under order from Kaiba himself not to let anyone through.

"It's ok, she's a friend."

The old receptionist looked up over Anzu's shoulder, as Anzu and Matt turned around. Roland was standing behind them, he motioned to Anzu and Matt to follow him and took them to a small private waiting room. "I expected you would come here as soon as you heard about the accident, Ms. Mazaki." He said as he sat down on a chair and smiled weakly up at her.

Anzu and Matt imitated him, Anzu looked carefully at Roland, she would see he was stressed and worried, whatever was going on was not good news. She noted he had a bandaged hand and a cut on the side of his head, of course, he was the bodyguard inside the limo with Mokuba, who else? "How are you?" She asked.

Roland shrugged. "A few scratches."

"And Mokuba?"

Roland sighed. "I don't know. Somehow he made it through so far but..."

"Is it really that bad?" Anzu asked, worriedly.

"I'm afraid so." Roland answered. "They had to reanimate him before bringing him here. I actually didn't believe they would succeed. He's been in the operation block since then...but his injuries were severe, I don't know what to expect..." They fell into silent worry, there wasn't much that could be said or done, the only thing they could do was hope and wait.

* * *

It took hours, but eventually, someone came into the room. All three looked up as a man in his early fifty, dressed in white arrived. Roland stood up to face the man. "How is he?" He asked.

The doctor looked grim. "He's stable for now, but I wouldn't get my hopes too high. He suffered severe trauma to his left side, numerous fractures as well as internal damage and his skull was fractured. We did everything we could, all we can do now is wait and see."

"Can we see him?" Anzu asked, hopeful.

The doctor shock his head. "He is currently in the intensive care unit, only direct family members are allowed to visit."

Anzu's head dropped, she wanted to see her friend so badly, she waited for hours. She looked up when Matt put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you home, you need to rest."

"I'll inform you if anything come up." Roland said.

Anzu nodded and let Matt lead her out of the hospital. "Thanks for staying with me." She told him when they reached his car.

Matt smiled slightly. "It's nothing." He answered. "Hey, don't worry, he'll be fine, he's a Kaiba after all, you don't get rid of them that easily."

* * *

It took 8 days until Mokuba was transferred from intensive care and Anzu was allowed to go and see him, though that didn't stop her from coming by everyday to check on him. She was excited and worried at the same time about seeing him, she didn't know what to expect. When she entered Mokuba's hospital room, she almost cried. Mokuba was lying in bed, he had a bandage around his head, covering his left eye, his left arm was in a cast, she could only imagine all the other injury he had, well hidden under the covers, and even though he was unconscious he was obviously in pain.

"How is he?" She asked Roland

The bodyguard could only shrug. "He's slowly getting better, the doctors said that he should be fine at that point, but it's too early to know if there will be any permanent damage due to the skull fracture or lack of oxygen before the paramedics arrived, we won't know until he wakes up."

Anzu stayed for two hours, just watching Mokuba sleep, against all odds he had survived until now, but she wondered if he would still be the same Mokuba.

Anzu came for a quick visit almost everyday, even if she could only stay for a few minutes because of her job and school. Every time she came, no matter what time it was, Roland was always standing guard in front of his room, still doing his job as Mokuba's personal bodyguard. Which actually made her consider the possibility that Roland might be a robot designed by Kaiba to protect him and his brother, seriously, did the guy ever even sleep? They didn't talk much, everyday Anzu would ask about Mokuba's condition and he would answer her, other than that, he gave her privacy when she was with Mokuba.

After a week passed, Anzu finally dared to ask him a question that had been bothering her. "Where's Kaiba?" She asked as she came out of Mokuba's room.

Roland frowned, clearly did not want to answer the question. "He's tied down by a some obligations." He answered, though Anzu could say he was lying.

"His brother almost died, what could be more important than that? He wasn't there while we were waiting for Mokuba to come out of the operation room and I've been here every day in two weeks and I haven't seen him either, did he even came once?"

"He has his reasons."

"Reasons? How can you give him any excuse?"

"My job is to ensure Mokuba Kaiba's safety, not judge his brother's action." Roland answered.

"How can you accept that?" Anzu asked, glaring at him, how could the guy be so cold?

"Seto trusts me enough to ensure his little brother's safety. It might only be professional trust to him, but its still more than he ever gave anyone else, I take pride in that trust and I will not betray it by meddling in his affairs or give information concerning his private life away, even if it is you, Ms. Mazaki." Anzu's glare softened, she could see how much Roland cared for both Kaiba brothers, though she wondered how anyone could possibly be that loyal to someone like Kaiba, she couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him. "I know Seto's behavior might look harsh to you and even heartless, but I'm not lying when I say he has his reasons, I don't expect you to understand nor do you have to."

"Maybe I'd like to." Anzu said softly.

Roland smiled bitterly. "Entering Seto Kaiba's world is no easy task. I'd advise you not to get too close, you will only succeed in hurting you both."

* * *

Another week passed and Anzu still came everyday to see Mokuba, Kaiba still didn't show up and Anzu tried not to think too much about it, but she was still mad at the CEO for treating his little brother like that. A small movement caught her attention and stopped her train of thoughts, she looked down at Mokuba as the teenager moaned slightly, turning his head to the right.

"Mokuba!" She said excitedly, taking the teen's right hand in her own. "Mokuba, can you hear me?"

Mokuba moaned again before slowly opening his right eyes, which wasn't covered in bandages. "...Seto?" He called weakly, his vision still blury.

Anzu sighed. "No, it's just me."

Mokuba blinked a few time to clear his vision. "A-Anzu?" He started looking around, panic and confusion taking over. "What's going on? Where am I?" He tried to sat up only to wince from the pain it caused him.

"Stay still!" Anzu said, gently placing her hands on him to stop him from moving. "You're in a hospital. You were in a car accident. How are you feeling?"

Mokuba took a few labored breaths before answering. "It hurts..."

"Try to stay still, I'll got get the doctor, ok?" Anzu asked, Mokuba nodded and closed his eye to rest as Anzu left. She went to tell a nurse that Mokuba was awake so she could go get the doctor to check on him. She waited outside for a few minutes as the doctor checked him, as the man walked out he smiled at Anzu, which told the dancer everything she needed to know. She walked back in to find a much more awake Mokuba staring at the ceiling. He looked at her when she opened the door, and even though it only lasted for a second, Anzu saw the hope in his eye that disappeared the moment he saw it was her, clearly she wasn't the person he really wanted to see.

"Hey." She said as she sat down on a chair next to his bed.

Mokuba smiled weakly at her. "You look horrible." He said.

Anzu frowned playfully, she did spent all her free time of the last three weeks here, she was tired as hell and probably didn't look so great. "It's your fault for making me worried like that." They stayed silent for a few moment, Mokuba turning back to look at the ceiling, she could see something was on his mind. "Mokuba, if...if you don't mind me asking. Did something happen between you and your brother?"

Mokuba's face fell even more as he turned his head to look away from her, wincing slightly in pain as he did so.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"He said I destroyed his life." Mokuba said softly, a silent tear falling down his right eye. "And...he's right..."

* * *

She couldn't believe that guy, Anzu thought as she not so patiently waited for the elevator to reach the last floor. She was mad, she couldn't remember the last time she was this mad at someone. She walked out as soon as the door opened, making a straight line for the large door before anyone could even think of stopping her. She barged into the large office as if she owned the place, and glared the deathliest glare that ever was.

She obviously startled Kaiba with her entrance, he wasn't expecting someone to barge in his office like that, he slightly relaxed once he saw who it was before his eyes narrowed in a deathly glare of his own. "This bad habit of yours is really starting to piss me of. Give me one good reason not to have my security kick your tiny butt all the way outside."

"I can't believe how much of a heartless bastard you are." She said, disgust dripping from her voice.

Though the sight of the usual friendly cheerleader looking at him with more hatred then he ever thought her capable of was disturbing, he didn't show it. "Get the hell out, I don't have time to waste on you."

"And what about Mokuba?" She asked. Kaiba stiffened visibly when she mentioned the name. "Your too busy for him too? Or maybe he's just a waste of time to you as well, not worth his oh so mighty brother's attention." She almost yelled as she made her way around the desk to glare down at him

Kaiba stood up, forcing Anzu to look up at him. "Get out!" He said, his voice dangerously calm.

"No!" Anzu shot back. "You don't scare me. Mokuba is my friend and I won't let anyone hurt him, especially not you."

"This does not concern you."

"YES IT DOES!" She yelled back. "You weren't there next to him those last three weeks waiting for him to wake up, _hoping_ that he was going to wake up, while _you_ just left him there to die. And now he's beating himself up because you told him he _ruined_ your life and he believes it. You told your own brother, who idolized you all his life, that he destroyed your life, after all the support and love he gave you all his life, you threw him away saying you wanted him to disappear. And you dare calling yourself a brother?"

"SHUT UP!" Kaiba yelled, grabbing the front of her clothes and shoving her in the glass wall behind his desk.

Anzu stared up at him, she was too angry to feel pain or fear, she started in his eyes, but what she saw in them made her anger fade away quickly. She could see it in his eyes, all the pain, the guilt, the anger, the sadness, the misery and fear of a lifetime, all bottled up inside his heart, never too be seen by anyone. It only lasted a second, but she saw it all. Kaiba let her go and glaring down at her, his eyes back to being the endless pits of ice she was used to see. He knew his mask slipped and he knew she saw it, there was new tension in the air as Anzu quickly walked back to the door, still shaken by everything she saw, but she still stopped at the door.

"He asked for you." She said, not turning around. "It's not too late to make things right. Talk to him."

* * *

Admit it, I so totally fooled you all XD seriously, I never though you'll all fall for that one, I was actually convinced no one would actually believe that I would really kill Mokuba.

Hey, look at that, my third update in like 2 weeks XD

Review Please, it's the only pay I get


	12. Brothers love and hate

Today I did something _**Unthinkable**_. I destroyed my facebook account DUNDUNDUN. I completely erase everything in it and deactivated it. Practically meaning that I erased my very existence and therefore I am not a part of this world anymore and I've been reduced to live in the shadows with the other rare souls who don't have a facebook either.

Please keep reviewing to keep me motivated.

Chapter twelve: Brothers love and hate

Kaiba felt a lot of things right now, anger was one of them. He was angry at Mazaki for what she dared to tell him, she didn't know anything, what right did she have to barge in his office like that and yell those things at him. He was also mad at himself, for slipping like that in front of her, she wasn't supposed to see him like that, no one was supposed to, not even Mokuba ever saw what he accidentally showed her, and it scared him that someone saw everything in him he worked so hard to forget. He also felt guilty about what he did to his brother, the way he treated him those last few years and what he told him before the accident.

Those last three years had been hell for him. He hadn't meant for his brother to hear that, he was never supposed to know that. Taking care of his brother was the only goal he ever had, his only reason for living. His sole purpose was to take care of Mokuba and he failed, he betrayed him in the worst way possible. Mokuba was never supposed to know how he felt. But despite Kaiba's best effort to forget these feelings, they kept coming back and they were affecting his behavior in front of his little brother...He know those feelings weren't right, he knew it wasn't his brother's fault but he couldn't help but feel that way.

Kaiba grabbed the locket he was still wearing around his neck and opened it. Inside was still the same picture or his brother back when he was five, his eyes shining with happiness, innocence and admiration. When was the last time he actually earned a smile from his brother? He wished things would still be as they were back then, when his brother always supported him and looked up to him. It was so easy back then, he didn't have to do anything to receive his brother's unconditional trust and love, but now... Mokuba wasn't a kid anymore, he wasn't as dependent of him as he used to be and he had his own opinion. He could see him slowly slipping further and further away from him everyday, and the prospect of being left alone scared him, but he didn't do anything to stop him. Actually, he couldn't remember the last time he did something to please his brother, Mokuba was well passed the age of unconditional love and forgiveness, and he obviously didn't do much to keep his little brother close. He just kept pushing the kid away, yet Mokuba was still here with him, trying to sort things out...and he just threw him away again.

He couldn't let things continue that way. Mokuba was the only reason he made it this far, why he was still a part of this world, if he were to lose him, he'd be all alone and would be left without a reason to live...He had to fix this.

* * *

Kaiba hesitated in front of the closed door, he felt he didn't have the right to be here after everything he did. After a few moment of hesitation, he turned the handle and slightly opened the door to see inside. The room was dark, but the light from the hallway was enough to allow him to see inside, Mokuba was lying in a small bed, at first he appeared to be sleeping but he slowly opened his valid eye and looked at the door.

The sight hurt, to see his usually so cheerful brother in such a state, so miserable and in so much pain, nearly broke Kaiba's hurt. Mokuba stared weakly at him, it only lasted for a second but Kaiba saw it, the little flicker of hope and happiness in his eye before it was replaced by sadness and hurt and he turned his head to his left to stare out the window. Kaiba left the door opened slightly to have some light and walked to his brother's bed, taking a seat on the chair next to his brother's bed. He stayed silent, not sure what to say...what could he say?

"What do _you_ want?" Mokuba demanded, not even looking at him.

"I...thought we could talk." Kaiba said, not daring to look at his brother.

"Talk?" Mokuba snorted, but it came out more as a painful gasp. "Why should I have to listen to what you want to say now?" He said angrily, glaring outside, not sparing a look to his brother.

"Mokuba...I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Mokuba cut him off harshly, turning his head around to glare at him. "What right do you have of coming here and try to talk with me after you kept pushing me away every time _I_ tried?" His glare faded and tiredness took over his features. "I'm tired of this, you made it clear you didn't want me around so stop pretending and leave me alone, I'm tired of fighting against you for nothing." He said more calmly, turning back to look out the window again.

Kaiba silently sighed, he knew he had deeply hurt his brother with what he told him, if Mokuba had been the one to say those words to him... "I'm sorry." He said, looking down.

"If only you meant it..."

Kaiba decided to ignore his little brother's comment, he realized just how angry and betrayed his brother felt, but he had to make things right... "What I said....I shouldn't have said it."

"But you feel that way." Kaiba was surprised by his brother's words. Mokuba turned his head to look at him, silent tears falling from his eye. "I've known for years how you felt about me, I could see it in your eyes. You think I never felt that way too? That I never thought that if it weren't for me, mom would still be here and you wouldn't have had to suffer so much?" He said, looking way from his brother.

"It's not your fau-"

"I knew what was going on!" Mokuba interrupted him. "I knew what he was doing to you, I knew and I didn't do anything..."

"You were just a kid."

"So where you!!!" Mokuba yelled while glaring at him. "If it's really not my fault then why are you so angry at me? Why do you hate me so much for it?"

"Because I needed to blame someone." Kaiba looked down, as if ashamed of what he was saying. "Everything I did, I did it for you. It was so easy to make you responsible for all my pain. But those where my decisions, I could have put an end to it any time, take you and go back to the orphanage, but I was so afraid that you would abandon me...

"Why would I leave you?"

"Everyone else did." Kaiba said, raising his head to look at his brother. Mokuba's eyes widened as he saw the pure terror in his brother's eyes at the thought of him leaving. "After mom and dad died and our family threw us away, I was so afraid that you too would leave me, that you would turn your back on my like everyone else did and that I would end up all alone. The thought of loosing you was unbearable, you have no idea how much I needed you. You were all I had and you became my only purpose in life, the only reason I had to keep living.

But you were young, anyone would have wanted to adopt you, you'd have a good family to take good care of you and you would eventually forget about me. That was unbearable to me so I made sure we'd leave together, no matter what. I endured everything after that because I was afraid I might lose you, if we went back to the orphanage...yet at the same time, I unconsciously started blaming you for everything.

And now...whatever was left of me was destroyed by Gozaburo. I am nothing, you are the only thing I have...but you don't need me anymore....actually I don't think you ever needed me as much as I need you. I can see you leaving...and I started loathing you because I'm left completely alone, without anything. I...don't have anything to live for except you."

Kaiba kept his head down and stayed silent, waiting for his brother's answer, something yet fell on his hand, intrigued, he raised his hand to his face and was surprise to feel tears rolling down his cheeks. He was distracted when he heard his brother move, Mokuba was forcing himself to sit up, his face twisted by pain as he did so. "Mokuba..."

He stood up and tried to make him lie down but Mokuba let his head fall on his shoulder and put his good arm around his neck, he was exhausted by the effort but refused to let go. "It's ok to cry." He said, slowly rubbing circles on his older brother's back.

After a moment of hesitation, Kaiba sat down on the bed, and relaxed in his little brother's embrace as silent tears fell down his eyes. He had no idea how long he stayed like that, letting his little brother comfort him. It was...so weird, showing his weaknesses like that, especially to his little brother but...he couldn't stop himself, he couldn't stop his tears and he couldn't find the resolve to push Mokuba away. He needed this. He had no idea how long they stayed like that, but eventually, Kaiba could feel his little brother getting tired so he gently pushed him back and help him lay back, Mokuba tried to resist but he was just too tired and it hurt too much.

They stayed silent, it was a shy and slightly awkward silence but neither of them dared to speak. Kaiba absentmindedly started stroking Mokuba's hair while thinking about what just happened, everything he just said and worrying about what would happen now...would Mokuba understand him? He was interrupted from his thought when Mokuba giggled lightly.

"What's so funny?" Kaiba asked, looking down at his brother.

Mokuba smiled, tiredly looking up at Kaiba. "I was just remembering, back when I was a kid and you'd stay with me when I was sick, you'd work on your laptop and start stroking my hair much like you are doing now." Mokuba looked down sadly as he got as close to his brother as his pained body allowed him. "I miss those times."

Kaiba smiled nostalgically. "Me too kiddo."

Mokuba smiled again. "Wanna know a secret?" He asked. "I wasn't sick, I just wanted to spend time with you. I enjoyed being with you, even if I had to pretend to be sick and sleep all day....it's kinda sad actually, that I had to do that just to be with you."

The hair felt heavy around them, as Kaiba silently kept stroking his brother's hair. "Wanna know a secret?" He finally asked, looking down at Mokuba with a mischievous smile. "I knew you were faking."

Mokuba smiled. "I knew you knew I was."

"And I knew you knew that I knew you were faking." Both laughed lightly, until Mokuba sighed tiredly.

"You're a good person Seto." Mokuba said. "You've did so much for me all my life, I'm very grateful for that. But you can't keep living like that...everything you did, you did it for me, but now, I don't need you so much anymore. You're my older brother, you'll always be and I'll always love you, no matter what. I'll always be there for you and I will always need you, but you can't keep living for me, you have to live your own life, do things you like, be happy...If you don't...then you'll always resent me for ruining your life..."

"I..."

"Just try. You have the right to be happy, you deserve it."

* * *

Anzu sighed as she turned around on her bed, she looked at the clock, it was around 3 in the morning, meaning that it was 4 pm in Japan, she picked up the phone and dialed the number of the only person she knew who could understand her.

"Hello?"

Anzu smiled as she heard her best friend's voice. "Hey Yugi!"

"Anzu?" Yugi asked, surprise evident in his voice. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, you?"

"A little tired, I had a long day. So, what's up?" Yugi asked.

Anzu hesitated for a moment before answering. "Mokuba woke up."

"Really?" Yugi asked, pleased by the news. "How is he?"

"Still in pain, it's going to take a while for him to recover completely but the doctor said he shouldn't have any sequel."

Yugi sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. But that's not why you called, is it?" He said knowingly.

Anzu mentally cursed him for being so perceptive, she could never get away with trying to hide something from him. She sighed, and decided to might as well tell him what was really on her mind, so she explained her last encounter with Kaiba to him.

"I can't keep thinking about it and I feel so guilty about it, like I did something wrong." Anzu finally said.

Yugi thought about it for a while. "You feel bad because you saw something you were not supposed to, something no one was ever supposed to see, it's like you invaded Kaiba's privacy."

"But I didn't mean to." Anzu said.

Yugi sighed. "I know, but it doesn't change the fact that you did, and you feel guilty about it."

"What should I do?" She asked.

"Nothing." Yugi plainly answered.

"Nothing? How can I stay there and do nothing after seeing what I saw? I saw just how much he was suffering...I can't just do nothing about it."

"You think Kaiba needs or want you to help him out of pity?" Yugi explained calmly. "If you want to help him, you have to do it for the good reasons, not to make yourself feel better, you'll only end up hurting him."

* * *

Anzu rushed down the hallway of the hospital toward Mokuba's room, hoping she was not too late, she sighed when she saw him still sitting on his bed, fully dressed and waiting patiently. "Hi." She said, walking more slowly into the room, trying to catch her breath. Mokuba had gotten better really fast, though he still had a cast on his left arm and leg and still couldn't walk on his own, most of his bandages had been removed, including the one on his head. "I heard they were letting you out today."

Mokuba smiled. "Yea."

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"I'm going to rest for a day or to before going back to Japan." Mokuba said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, it still hurts a little and I can't do much efforts but all my serious injuries have healed, so I can leave. I can't wait to be home and sleep in a real bed." He said, still smiling.

"I'm sorry, for not coming much those last two weeks, I was really busy with school and everything." She said, of course she didn't say that one of the main reason was because she was afraid she might meet Kaiba.

"It's ok." He said. "You...talked to Seto didn't you?"

Anzu smiled as she looked down in embarrassment. "Maybe..."

Mokuba hugged her tightly with his good arm. "Thank you."

"How are things between you two?" She asked.

Mokuba smiled lightly. "Slowly getting better, we're talking and...I can see more of my brother in him everyday."

"That's good."

"Are you ready?" Both of them turned to look at Kaiba, who had just arrived.

"Yea. Bye Anzu. I'll come back to visit soon." Mokuba said as Kaiba helped him stand up and helped him walk out.

Anzu smiled. "Take care of yourself."

Mokuba waved but Kaiba didn't look at Anzu once or even acknowledge her presence.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Mokuba asked his brother as he sat down on a seat of their private jet.

Kaiba smiled slightly, of course he wanted to stay with his brother and make sure he was alright, but Mokuba had already missed a month of school and he had a lot of things to do. "Stop worrying over me so much." He said. "I'll be fine. I'll come home for the holidays."

Mokuba's eyes widened with hope. "Really?"

Kaiba smiled. "Yes, really. I promise, real vacation, no work."

Mokuba smirked. "I'll believe it when I'll see it."

* * *

Whew, that was something to write. Ok, so now, I hope you are ready for the Anzu/Seto to get started (about time) yea I know, sorry about that, last year really messed me up so I messed up the story, but now it's back on track. But of course, when did I say that I was going to make it easy for our two favorite brunets.

I've checked my plan....which by the way is not even completed yet XD I still have a big minimum of 6 chapters in my plan, to which you can add a few more for what I haven't decided to happen yet.


	13. Silent visit

Ok, let's see, last Monday we had a huge party at school....too much alcohol lowered my immunization system so now I'm sick, if I'm lucky then I have the swine flu, cause if I do, then I won't have to pretend that I'm worried about it anymore. Yea, seriously, just to make yourself feel better, there are over dozens of different flu viruses and all of them are mutating everyday, so, technically speaking, any of those viruses have the chance of becoming extremely deadly overnight, so stop being so paranoid about the swine flu, be paranoid about all those other flu viruses. (By the way, I am in a vet school, and some people at the school actually got the swine flu.................nobody died........................and 80 percent of you got dog parasites at least once when you were a kid, and said parasite loves to go dig in your brain or your eyes and die there...........................oh, and please, NEVER let a baby put its hands in your mouth (you don't want to know why, just don't) (yup, you learn the weirdest things in vet school)

Chapter thirteen: Silent visit.

It had been two weeks since Mokuba went back to Japan, Kaiba wasn't too happy about letting his still injured little brother out of his sight but he knew the kid had to get back eventually. He suddenly felt....empty, everything was so meaningless. He had spent two weeks in the hospital with Mokuba before he was allowed out, they talked a lot, after only arguing for years, they practically had to leaning about one another all over again.

He discovered the teen his little brother had become, it was different and at first it disturbed him that his brother matured so much without him even realizing it...but he liked it, being able to talk with his brother on a more equal level. But now Mokuba was gone again and he was left behind....after rediscovering the joy of having his little brother around, having him away made him feel lonely, even thought Mokuba called everyday to check on him.

Work wasn't helping him any, with his brother's accident, Kaiba had fell behind in his work and he had to work double to make up for it...and he was already working double before the accident. Work was pilling up, he had dozens of meetings he had reported that he had to go through now. He was barely able to get a few hours of sleep each day, most of the time he would just fall asleep while working. He couldn't trust anyone to do all those things and he couldn't afford to lose any single change of making a deal, not with Bristel still ahead of him and doing everything he could to sink him.

So when Kaiba came out of his fifth meeting of the day, he was in an extremely bad mood, it didn't go too well, the man knew Kaiba wasn't in a position to bargain much and did everything he could to leave him with the short end of the stick. The young CEO was frustrated, back in Japan anyone would beg on their knees to have him make a deal with them, but here he was the one who had to make concession because of that damn Bristel...he didn't like it, he didn't like feeling like he was at the mercy of those bastards. He slammed the door of his office shut and sat down on his desk, he had a huge headache all day long and it was only getting worst. He hadn't been there for five minutes that his secretary came in to give him a pile of documents he had to check over and sign, he got a call from one of his employee saying there was a bug in one of their knew product and him to check it up and two possible business associates who canceled their meetings with him, because of Bristel.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but it didn't work. He felt himself suffocating, every single sound felt like someone was someone was hammering his skull from the inside and he had so many things to do....Kaiba snapped when the phone rang again, he threw it at the wall with everything he had. He stared at the broken phone, lying on the floor and let his head fall in his hands, breathing heavily. He had been working almost nonstop for the last two weeks......he couldn't believe he was saying that but he needed a break. Kaiba grabbed his coat and quickly made his was outside, ready to kill any idiot who would dare speak to him.

Kaiba walked around aimlessly, he let his feet lead him while he tried to empty his head and relax a little, but it wasn't working, he couldn't stop thinking about it all until he was on the verge of breaking down. He suddenly stopped and looked up, he was in front of a small café...he recognized the place, that was where Mazaki was working. His first thought was to turn around and leave...but he didn't want to go back to Kaiba Corp just yet and the aroma of coffee coming from the shop was definitely appealing.

* * *

Anzu was busy cleaning up in the back store of the coffee when she heard the little bell over the door chime, she sighed, she had hoped no more costumer would come in tonight, it was only 30 minutes before closing time and she was trying to clean up now so she could leave earlier. She walked out of the small kitchen and froze when she saw who her costumer was.

Kaiba stared back indifferently at her, from the look on her face, she didn't expect he would come back here, he could have made some smart ass comment to make her angry...but he was just too tired to try so he just sat down on a stool in front of the counter. "Give me a large cup of whatever is the strongest stuff you have."

Anzu blinked and shook her head, no, it wasn't a dream, Seto Kaiba was there and he actually ordered something.... Quickly, she grabbed a large cup and filled it with some sort of imported really expensive coffee before handing it to him. Kaiba took the cup, without so much of a thank and paid her before drinking some of it. Anzu thought he would leave right away but to her surprise he stayed right where he was.

She was feeling uncomfortable, never before had she been with Kaiba without them insulting one another...it was so weird and the silence was unnerving her. "How's Mokuba?" She asked, unable to stand it anymore.

Kaiba stayed there staring blankly ahead of him. He was just so tired and didn't want to go back yet. It was so calm in here, and even if he hated to admit it, the coffee was good...really good, he was slowly starting to feel himself relax slightly, he had actually forgot Anzu was there, until she asked about his brother. "He's fine." He said, not even looking at her.

"You look tired." Anzu said, after a few more moment of uncomfortable silence.

Kaiba glared at her. "Mind your own business." He snapped.

Anzu glared back. "Sheesh, sorry for caring." She turned around and started to clean the counter, it was a policy that she couldn't leave costumers alone in the café...even if it was highly unlikely that Kaiba would steal something.

"I don't need you to care about me."

Anzu snorted. "No, of course not, you're the great Seto Kaiba, king of heartless bastard. Sorry for trying to sympathize with you, I forgot you were so over the simplest basic social interactions."

"Are you done yet?" Kaiba asked in a bored tone. "You're giving me a headache."

"Why do I even bother." She said to herself before turning her back to him and going back to her cleaning duties before she closed the shop.

They both stayed silent for the following ten minutes, until Kaiba stood up to leave, but he stopped at the door. "Thanks....for taking care of Mokuba and......what you said." He said before leaving.

Anzu just stood there, staring at the door in total shock. Did Kaiba just thanked her? Did Seto Kaiba actually came here of his own free will, stayed for maybe 10 minutes, had been maybe slightly perhaps not a total jerk to her... and actually thanked her? What was up with that? Still shocked, she went to the counter to clean it up and frowned when she saw what he left on the counter: a cent, he left her a freaking cent! All shock forgotten, she ran to the door and threw it open. "You damn Bastard!!!!" She yelled at Kaiba's retreating back. Yea, no matter what, Kaiba would always be Kaiba...

Kaiba heard her comment and smirked as he walked away, yea.

(an: For those who do not know or in case it's not the same. Here in Canada, leaving one cent as tip is an insult to tell the waitress she was horrible, it's worst than not giving any. And in Japan, giving tip is apparently considering an insult as well, something about you meaning that your boss is not paying you enough and you need charity or something. So yea....mixing both would be pretty insulting don't you think?)

* * *

Anzu had been surprised by Kaiba's sudden appearance in the shop, three days ago. She still had trouble believing that he actually thanked her...... for breaking in his office and tell him how much of a bastard he was. She wasn't really mad about the tip thing, it was Kaiba after all, of course he'd do anything he could to bother her, especially since he actually thanked her. Seto Kaiba never thanked anyone, so she guessed that he couldn't thank her without some sort of insult along the way. But life continued and she tried not to spend too much time thinking about it, it's not like she was going to see him again now that he had apologizes, why else would he have come here in the first place, right? Wrong, after 3 peaceful days without Kaiba...he came back. So here she was again, alone with Kaiba in the café, he once again sat at the same stool and slowly drank his coffee, leaving her surrounded by nothing but silence. He didn't even insult her once, absolutely nothing....

This time, she didn't try to start any conversation, his silence was troubling her...and she didn't know how she should react. She couldn't deny that she was worried, he did look tired, more than he had three days earlier, and knowing Kaiba, he was probably a hell lot more exhausted then he appeared. He also looked like he had lost some weight since she saw him two weeks ago and she could tell he was stressed, his whole posture was so stiff.

She stopped cleaning and went back behind the counter, she grabbed a piece of cake and put it in front of Kaiba,.

Kaiba wasn't sure why he came back here, he had been working again, he barely even stopped in the last three days, he wasn't even sure he slept for 10 hours during that time. He was even more exhausted and frustrated that nothing would go his way and was just about ready to kill everyone and just give it all up. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like coming here, to hide away from everything...even if for only a little while.

A cake was suddenly placed in front of him, he looked up questioningly at Anzu. "You look like you didn't eat anything in days. I'm sorry I don't have anything more consistent." Kaiba looked down at the cake and back up at her, he opened his mouth to stay something but Anzu beat him to it. "I know, you don't need people to care about you. But I do anyway so live with it." She said before going back to her cleaning.

Kaiba stared at her, he couldn't understand himself...he should hate her, avoid her at all cost or make her life miserable, especially after she made him slip. He knew she saw, if only for a second, she saw everything he had kept bottled up inside of him, all those feelings that were never supposed to be seen by anyone. But she saw them. He should hate her, but instead.....he had no idea, he didn't know what it was he felt.

They both stayed silent after that, a few minutes later he just stood up and put his coat on and walked out, not saying anything. This time he hadn't left her any tip...which Anzu thought could be considered as an improvement, but she was surprised to see that he actually did eat the cake she gave him. But she couldn't help but wonder.....what was his reason for coming today?

* * *

Kaiba didn't know why he entered the café the first time, he had no idea why he actually went back yesterday and he sure has hell had no clue as to why he was still once again in front of the damned little Café. As he entered, Anzu looked up at him, if she was surprised to see him, she didn't show it. "Good evening." she greeted him politely as he sat on the same stool as he did the two last time he came, he didn't greet her back. "Same thing?" Kaiba merely nodded, he took his head in his hand and slightly rubbed his temples, he had such a big headache.

"Long day, huh?."Anzu commented as she gave him his coffee. Kaiba glared up at her, though in his state of exhaustion it probably didn't look like much of a glare. "I know, I know, not my business." She answered, raising her hands in defense. Kaiba turned his attention back to his coffee, slowly drinking it...trying to push back the moment he would have to go back to work.

"It was horrible........which is saying something since every day is horrible." He said, glaring at the wall in front of him.

Anzu stared a little, she couldn't believe he actually answered her....he never did before. "What happened?"

He sighed. "I spent three hours in a meeting listing to a stupid old bat who wanted to change the terms we had agreed on before singing the contract. Somehow someone was able to hurt himself in the test lab and he's trying to sue me. My stupid employees can't do their freaking job and debug our latest product AND I still have that freaking Bristel on my back, trying to destroy me." His cell phone started ringing, he groaned as he took it out of his pocket, his headache growing tenfold.

Before he could answer, Anzu swiftly took the phone from his hand and answered it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba is currently out on a break, please call again later." She said before hanging up on whoever that was.

Kaiba stared at her for a few second, still trying to process what just happened...Did she really just did that? "What the hell is wrong with you?" He glared at her. "That could have been important."

"If it was then I'm sure they will call back later." Anzu said. She sat down on the stool next to him and looked worriedly at him. "You really look like you need a little break." Kaiba just kept glaring at her. "I know you don't like me, and we are not friends or anything, but I still care about you. I know you're a CEO and you have a lot of responsibility, but everyone needs a break once in a while. So, try to relax a little, even if it's just for a few minutes." She handed him his cell phone and walked away to continue her cleaning duties.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Kaiba first came to the Café, and it was now a little routine Anzu was getting used to, he'd come everyday, always at the same time, always take the same thing and stay there for 20 minutes straight before leaving. They didn't talk much, he actually never spoke first, he just politely answered her question about his day our Mokuba, it wasn't much, but with Kaiba it was still a huge something. She still had no idea why he was even coming here...but she never dared to ask him, she was afraid that if she did he would stop coming.

It was no surprise to her that he came again today, she greeted him and handed him his coffee, he merely nodded in acknowledgment before sitting down. "How was your day?" She asked cheerfully, she was in a good mood today, tomorrow was her last day of school before the Christmas holidays, she couldn't wait.

Kaiba shrugged. Anzu had to admit that he did started to look better lately, so she guessed thing were getting less hectic for him...he never talked much about his job. "What are you doing for the holidays?" He asked after a moment of silence

Anzu was surprised to hear him say anything, in the last two weeks he only answered her half the time and never actually started a conversation. "Nothing much, I guess, just lazying around." She said, shrugging.

"I'm going to Japan for two weeks." He said, not looking at her. "You want a ride?"

Anzu stared at him, her eyes wide with shock. There was no way he heard that right, right? "W-what?"

"Consider it a thanks for what you did for Mokuba." He said, still not looking at her.

"But...You already tha-"

"Mazaki." He interrupted her, looking at her. "It's a one time offer, are you coming or no?"

"O-of course, I'm coming." Anzu said, still shocked by the proposition. Was this really real?

Kaiba stood up and put his coat on. "I'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow after your classes." He said and walked outside.

Anzu stared at the door for a full minutes after she left. Did he really offered to take her to Japan for two weeks?

* * *

There you go folks. Sorry for being a little late (if only for one day) I have been a little sick last week and I didn't feel like doing anything (I swear I didn't even do any school work XD) So as you probably noticed, I'm trying to update every weekend now. But next week I might be late, some friends I haven't seen in a while are trying to plan a party, and of course, if there is one, I'm going.

Next chapter: Anzu spend a little vacation in Japan after two years (that is, after spending a 14 hours long flight with Kaiba)


	14. Home sweet Home

Sorry for the three day delay, I didn't have much inspiration for that chapter.

Chapter fourteen: Home sweet home.

Anzu could barely contain herself during her last day at school, she was going to spend her Christmas vacation in Japan. She was so happy, she hadn't been there since she started school over two years ago, it had been so long since she lase saw her friends and her family. She still couldn't believe that Seto Kaiba actually offered himself to take her back there, true, he had been somewhat civil to her those last two weeks, but she never expected he'd actually do anything like this.

As he told her, a black limo was waiting in front of the school as got out of her last class, the driver welcomed her and opened the door for her, he took her home so she could pick up her luggage and then drove her all the way to the airport. When they arrived, the driver took her things and led her all the way to a remote area in the airport and into a small jet. Anzu stared at it in awe, figures Kaiba would own his own private jet. A young flight attendant was waiting at the door, she smiled kindly as she motioned for Anzu to climb in. Anzu just couldn't believe her eyes as she entered the plane, truth be told, it looked more like a living room than a plane, there where only a few seats and they where huge, they looked more like coaches and there was a small table in the middle, there was also something that looked like a mini bar and a huge TV.

"You sure know who to travel with class." Anzu said, still in awe.

Kaiba, who was already sitting on one of the seat, barely looked up from his laptop, he didn't even stop typing but Anzu was used to Kaiba's lack of response so she didn't make a fuss about it...after all, he was bringing her all the way to Japan for free. Ok so the guy had probably more money they he knew what to do with it so it wouldn't really change anything in his life if she paid him, but the reason she never came back to Japan in the last two years was because she couldn't afford to so she was extremely grateful.

"Thanks...for bringing me." She said as she sat down, two seats away from the CEO to not invade his personal space.

"I told you before, I'm just repaying a favor you did me." Kaiba said.

Anzu sighed. "I know for you it's just that, but I'm still grateful, you don't know how much it means to me, so...thanks."

* * *

When Anzu woke up, the sun was still up, she looked at her watch, it told her that it was 2 in the morning back in New-York, but that gave her little indication on what time it really was wherever they were right now. She sat up on her seat and looked around, still in a daze, she noticed that Kaiba was still working on his laptop, like he was since they left. "Do you ever sleep?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Do you only ask stupid questions?" Kaiba replied, not looking up from his laptop.

"You should rest a little."

"And you should mind your own business. I can still kick you out if you keep bothering me."

Anzu frowned, but chose to ignore his comment, of course he wouldn't throw her out. "Why are you working so much anyway?"

Kaiba sighed. "I promised Mokuba that I wouldn't work while I'll be there."

"That sound hard to believe." Anzu said.

"I know, but I promised...and if I don't keep it then how am I supposed to expect Mokuba to trust me?"

Anzu sighed softly. "Still, he wouldn't be happy to see you overworking yourself like that..."

* * *

Anzu sighed as she got out of the plane, it had been along flight and truth be told, Kaiba wasn't exactly what you call entertaining company, he spent the entire trip working, actually that meant that he didn't sleep in the last 24 hours at least. Still he looked just as he already did, which made her wonder just how often he was doing that. She followed Kaiba out of the plane and into the airport.

Mokuba was waiting in in airport, in the still large room used by those who had private planes, he stood up from his seat when his brother arrived and walked to the door, well, if you can call hoping around with crutches walking, even though it had been two months since he had his accident, he still had a cast on his left leg and he was still weak so he couldn't move around much before getting tired. He smiled tiredly as he saw his brother coming out of the plane. "Hey bro. How was the trip?" But his smile quickly turned into surprise as he Anzu following his older brother outside of the plane.

Anzu smiled as she saw the younger Kaiba. "Hi Mokuba! You're looking better."

Mokuba stared at her, than at his brother, than back at her, his mouth slightly opened as if he was about to say something but couldn't decide on what. "Hi..." He finally said before giving his brother a weird look.

Avoiding his little brother's questioning glance, Kaiba started moving forward. "Let's go kid."

"Kaiba, wait!" Anzu called. Kaiba stopped next to his brother and turned around to look at her. Anzu smiled kindly at him, she closed the distance between then and hugged him tightly for a short second. Kaiba stiffened but still didn't push her away. "Thanks again for bringing me." She said as she grabbed her luggage and walked away from them. "Have a nice holiday."

Mokuba stared wide eyes at his brother, who stared after Anzu just as surprised. "So...you and Anzu..."

"Don't be ridiculous." Kaiba cut him, turning his gaze away from her and walking away toward the exit.

"Big brother. Your blushing." Mokuba said.

"Shut up, Mokuba."

Mokuba only laughed before following him. He was still smiling at his brother's back when they reached the limo, Kaiba got in first and laid down in one of the seats and closed his eyes, he was just so tired.

"But seriously." Mokuba said as he sat down in front of his brother. "Something has to be going on between you and Anzu for you to bring her."

"I owed her, that's all." Kaiba explained, turning his head to look at his brother.

"So you just invited her like that out of nowhere?" Mokuba doubtfully asked.

Kaiba frowned, damn his brother and his perceptiveness. "Does it really matter?"

"If it didn't then you wouldn't be avoiding the subject." Mokuba countered with a smug grin.

Kaiba stared up at him...he didn't have anything to counter that argument. It was true, why should he care if it didn't mean anything? If he still refused to say anything Mokuba would take it as confirmation that something is going on and if he said the truth, he would still assume something is going on. He was stuck. "Because it's irrelevant, our path crossed a few times since you left and I proposed to bring her here as a thank..."

"And how did you path 'crossed'."

"You're annoying." Kaiba said.

"And you're hiding something." Mokuba countered.

"There is nothing whatsoever going between me and Mazaki, never was and never will so drop it." Kaiba said, losing his patience, he didn't like being stuck in a corner.

"Fine, fine." Mokuba said, raising his hands in mocked defense. "Doesn't matter, Anzu will tell me." He said, smiling mischievously.

Kaiba did his best not to react, of course Mazaki would tell him and once she did, he'd never hear the end of it...even if nothing was going on.

* * *

Anzu got up early the next morning, she was so excited she could barely sleep at all. They had arrived around seven thirty the previous day and Anzu's parent took her out to eat and she talked none stop about everything that was going on in her life. She was so happy to see them. But today they had to work, so she decided to go and surprise her friends. Kaiba's offer to bring her with him had been so sudden and at the last minute that she barely had the time to get ready and warn her parents, so the guys didn't know she was there.

Anzu couldn't stop smiling as she saw the game shop only a few blocks away, she couldn't believe she was going to see her friends again after over two years, she was a little worried about just how much things might have changed. She took a deep breath before opening the door and she stepped in. As she expected, he was right there, Yugi was sitting behind the counter, reading something, he looked up from his book when he heard the bell over the door chiming. His eyes widened and he stared at her in shock. "Anzu?"

Anzu smiled sheepishly. "Surprise."

Yugi stood up from his seat and quickly walked up to her and hugged her tightly. "What are you doing here? I thought you couldn't afford to come back."

Anzu returned the hug just as tightly. "Something unexpected came up and here I am."

"What? You won the lottery?" Yugi asked, he let go of her and took a step back to get a good look at her.

"Not really." Anzu said, still smiling. Yugi hadn't changed much since last time she saw him, he had grown a little, he was now about her height and his features had matured a little, but it was still Yugi.

"You didn't get expelled, right?" He asked, frowning.

Anzu laughed. "No, of course not." She hesitated a little, she had been friends with Yugi since she was 5, and he knew she didn't have the money to pay for the trip so of course he would wonder about how she got here but should she tell him the truth? Well she couldn't lie to him, and avoiding the subject would only make things more suspicious, beside she had nothing to hide, right? "Actually....I came with Kaiba." She admitted, slightly avoiding his gaze.

"Kaiba?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Anzu smiled. "Yea....he just asked me if I wanted to come."

Yugi still looked just as surprised. "Really? Seto Kaiba?"

Anzu nodded. "Yea, well actually he said it was to thanks me for making him go see Mokuba after the accident."

"So he just popped out of nowhere and asked you if you wanted to come with him?"

"Something like that." She said, though it wasn't exactly the entire truth. "Hey, he brought me here so I'm not going to complain or anything." She said, trying to dismiss the subject. "Are you working?"

Yugi opened the door leading to the house and yelled. "Grandpa, Anzu is visiting, I'm taking the day off." And turned toward her, smiling. "Not anymore."

* * *

(an: Seriously, do you really want me to go around and write stuff about Anzu going out with her friends or seeing her family and having Anzu's aunt pinch her cheeks saying she grew up, which wouldn't have any real plot and no Kaiba/Anzu interaction? Cause I could go on and on about really pointless stuff here. I don't think you want that, so we're going to skip all the friendly get together and skip to the only important part of the vacation)

Anzu patiently waited as she drank some of her hot chocolate, she was in an extremely good mood, it had been a week since she arrived in Japan and she was having such a great time. She had spent most of her time hanging around with the guys or with her parents, they were all so excited to see her, her friends had a small party the day before Christmas Eve and she spent Christmas Eve with all her family: her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. She couldn't put into words just how she felt.

"Sorry, I hope you didn't wait too long." Mokuba said as he arrived, his coat and hair full of snow. "It's a real storm outside." He sat down in front of her.

Anzu blinked as she saw him walking freely. "You had your cast removed?" She asked, excitedly.

Mokuba sighed happily. "Yes, I feel so light now, though it's a little freaky to walk on my leg after two months. But that thing was making me go crazy. Walking with crutches is only funny for 5 minutes. So, are you enjoying your trip?"

Anzu smiled. "Yes, you have no idea how thankful I am for you brother to bring me here. I hadn't realized just how much I missed everyone. It's so good to be back, even if it's just for a while. What about you? How are things with your brother?"

Mokuba smiled softly. "Really good, actually. He's actually keeping his promise not to work."

"Really?" She asked, surprise. "What is he doing now?"

"Some charity thing." Mokuba said. "I'm not so heartless as to forbid him to give money to orphans during the holidays."

"And you decided to skip to take me out?"

"It's boring." Mokuba whined. "Beside, other than the fact that I absolutely love your company, I had another reason to want to talk to you in private." Mokuba suddenly turned more serious.

"What is it?" Anzu cautiously asked, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

Mokuba looked directly at her. "What really is going on between you an my brother?" He asked.

Anzu practically choked on her drink. "What?" She asked, after she recovered from her coughing fit.

"You heard me. Seto won't say anything, but he brought you with him, he wouldn't do that for just anyone."

"He just did it to thank me for what I did after your accident. That's all."

Mokuba sighed. "Please, I'm serious. My brother is not the kind of guy to randomly offer things like that, even to someone he considers himself indebted to. I worry about him, about his personal life, he never had anyone outside of me. I noticed he sounded more and more down everyday after I left, he was quickly starting to become more distant again and all of a sudden he started being in a better mood and more talkative and he showed up with you. I know something is going on."

Anzu sighed, she lowered her gaze to her cup as she fidgeted with it. "We've been....seeing each other lately. Don't get me wrong, were not involved or anything, we barely even talk. He just started coming to the café where I work two weeks ago, he drinks a coffee and leave, nothing else. Seriously there's nothing going on."

Mokuba smiled fondly. "For Seto to seek someone else's company is something huge."

"What? He's not seeking me out, he's just-"

"You don't seriously think that my brother, who never once in his life took a break for work, is actually doing it just for coffee." Mokuba cut her off, smiling. But then his smile disappeared again. "that's why I'm worried. Seto is not as strong as he seems, everyone just turned their back on him and used him, that's why he doesn't trust people, he's afraid of being betrayed again. So if he were to open up to someone and that person ended up using him also..."

"You're afraid I'm going to betray Kaiba?" Anzu asked.

Mokuba sighed, he senses that he had insulted her. "I don't mean it like that. I really think Seto should open up to people, but Seto.....has a lot of issues, so if you're not ready to face that and go all the way with it, then I don't think you should get close to him at all."

Anzu smiled softly. "I actually care about him, I've always considered him as a friend and I don't plan on betraying him or anything. I really don't know how things will turn out, but I'm sure that, behind all his walls your brother is a good person, after all he raised you and you're the sweetest person I know. I'd like to meet that person."

"I hope you'll be strong enough. You'll have to fight your way to him, he might even hurt you." Mokuba said sadly. "I really want him to open up to you, but I don't want you to get hurt..."

* * *

This time, when Anzu opened her eyes, it was dark outside of the plane, her two weeks were up and she was going back to America with Kaiba. She almost didn't want to go back after seeing her friends and family, but she knew that eventually she would come back home for good. She looked up to where Kaiba was working when he fell asleep, to her surprise, he was laying down ans sleeping as well, she sat up and stared. So the great Seto Kaiba did sleep after all, however, his sleep didn't look peaceful, he was slightly tossing a little and his features were strained.

"Kaiba?" She asked softly, but he didn't wake up, he just started groaning and tossing more. "Hey Kaiba, wake up!" She said louder, putting a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. But as soon as she touched him he snapped awake and his hand rose up and he slapped her, causing her to fall on the ground. She stared up at him in shock, her hand raising to her cheek, Kaiba stared at her for a second before his eyes lit up in recognition and he realized what happened.

* * *

There you go, yea I know, I'm evil.

Note to you all, my mid term exams are in three weeks, and in university exam weeks are something and I really have to start studying seriously right about now. I will probably update before then, but I don't think I will be able to keep the one week update until those are finished.

Read and Review Please.


	15. Fear

Chapter 15: Fear

Anzu sighed as she looked at her watch, it was already ten minutes past closing time, he didn't come today neither. It had been four days since she came back from Japan and she didn't see Kaiba since then, he had stopped coming to the café. She had a really good idea why, she guessed it was because of what happened on the way back, because he hit her, even though it was an only an accident...

_Flashback_

"_Kaiba?" She asked softly, but he didn't wake up, he just started groaning and tossing more. "Hey Kaiba, wake up!" She said louder, putting a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. But as soon as she touched him he snapped awake and his hand rose up and he slapped her, causing her to fall on the ground. She stared up at him in shock, her hand raising to her cheek, Kaiba stared at her for a second before his eyes lit up in recognition and he realized what happened. _

"_Are you ok?" Kaiba quickly recovered from the shock and knelled down beside her, for a moment, Anzu wasn't sure she was seeing and earing right, he actually sounded worried._

"_I'm...fine." Anzu said, still a little out of it._

"_Let me see." Kaiba asked softly, raising his hand to her face. Without any complains, Anzu removed her hand from her cheek, Kaiba gently stroked it with his thumb, making Anzu flinch slightly. Kaiba frowned, her cheek was slightly red, but he could tell this was going to turn into a colorful bruise, just how hard did he hit her? "Come on, you should put ice on that." He grabbed her hand and helped her sitting back on the seat before going to the small refrigerator, he grabbed a small pack of ice and gave it to her._

"_Thanks." Anzu smiled kindly before putting the ice on her sore cheek, wincing at the contact._

"_I'm sorry." Kaiba said, his eyes showing nothing but guilt before standing up and going to the back of the plane, to another room, and closed the door behind him. She waited for him to come back, but he didn't. After about 15 minutes had passed, Anzu stood up and went to open the door but it was locked. She knocked but got no answer. "Kaiba?" Still nothing. She laid her head against the door and sighed. "I'm not mad at you." She said, though she wasn't even sure he heard her. "Really, it was just an accident, I'm ok." But she got no answer._

_End Flashback_

Anzu looked at the clock in the café again, it was now twenty minutes passed closing time, he wasn't going to come today. She suddenly made up her mind, if he wasn't going to come here, then she was going to go and see him. She grabbed a huge cup and made coffee before closing the shop and making her way to the Kaiba Corporation building. It wasn't that far away from work, only five minutes away at the most.

She got there quickly, she climbed the steps leading to the front door and entered the building. Despite the late hour, the main hall was still swarming with people as Anzu walked straight for the elevator. No one even bothered to look at her and she was glad for it, she doubted they would let her through... she did barged in Kaiba's office two time before. However, there was no way for her to avoid Kaiba's personal secretary as the elevator opened on the last floor.

The secretary looked up at her, she was a young woman in her early twenty, tall, and lean with striking blond hair and blue eyes, Anzu had to admit, she was a beautiful woman. She frowned when she saw Anzu approach, she definitely recognized her.

"Good evening." Anzu said, deciding not to push her luck, she didn't want to get kicked out by security. "I'd like to see Mr. Kaiba, please."

The secretary eyed her strangely before replying. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No. But-"

"Then you can't see him." She cut her off.

Anzu sighed. "I'm not here on business, I'm a friend."

"You can't see him without an appointment." The secretary said.

"Fine, give me an appointment." Anzu said, she was losing her patience.

"Sure, when you'll own a company worth Mr. Kaiba's attention, I'll give you one. Mr. Kaiba is a busy man, he doesn't have time to waste on people like you. Now, I believe you know the way out or should I call security?"

Anzu sighed, she didn't want to cause a scene, beside, it was getting late and she hated walking outside alone at night. She turned around and walked back to the elevator.

* * *

Kaiba was in an extremely bad mood, he barely slept at all since in the last four days, he was loaded with work, stressed and in dire need of a real coffee, not the cheap sock juice from the machine. The idea of going to the café Anzu worked at was really tempting but he wouldn't, he had let things go too far already... The door of the elevator finally opened, he stepped out but froze on the spot when he saw Anzu standing there in front of him. "Mazaki? What are you doing here?"

Anzu looked up at him. "You stopped coming, I was worried you felt bad about what happened."

Kaiba frowned. "It was an accident and I apologized, I see no reason for me to feel bad." He said, walking past her, toward his office.

"Then why did you stop coming?" Anzu asked, following him.

Kaiba stopped and looked back at her. "What, you think we're friend or something? I owed you, now I paid you back, that's all there was to it. So why should I keep on wasting time on you?" He turned around, walked in his office and closed the door behind him.

Anzu stared at the door, completely stunned, what was up with that?

* * *

It took Anzu a long while to fall asleep, she was still wondering about the reason behind Kaiba's harsh behavior. Had she been wrong in thinking that maybe they had gotten a little bit closer? Mokuba had seemed so sure of that...What should she do now? Should she leave him alone? Or should she keep trying? But trying to do what? She couldn't force him to accept her as a friend if he didn't want to. But she couldn't believe that he came over every days for two weeks just to offer her to come with him. But then why did he push her away like that? Why had he been so cruel with her? '_he doesn't trust people, he's afraid of being betrayed again_' She remembered Mokuba's words from the holidays, when he told her about Kaiba. Was that the reason for Kaiba's action? Was he trying to push her away before she could turn her back on him? '_You'll have to fight your way to him, he might even hurt you' _Mokuba knew what would happen, he actually warned her about it. This new realization made her more determined than ever, oh she was going to fight alright.

* * *

Saying that Kaiba was in a bad mood was an understatement, at this point, you could say that his bad mood was in a bad mood, all his employees were walking on egg shell, one useless word, one breath too loud around him would get them fired. The reason behind this sudden mood was unknown to everyone, things were going better than ever at the company, they were making huge profits and soon the American branch would be fully implanted. The only hypothesis they had to explain their employer's attitude was the young brown haired woman who has been coming everyday for the past two weeks to see him. The nature of their relationship was unknown to everyone, it appeared they hadn't actually seen each other over the past two weeks, according to the rumors, she brought him a large coffee everyday, but he wouldn't see her, each day she would leave the coffee to his secretary and leave. Whether Kaiba was in a bad mood because they had a fight or because of her presence, no one was sure. Miria Davis, Kaiba's personal secretary, refused to say anything, all she said was that the young girl was obviously a nutcase fangirl in love with him. But the fact that their boss gave no order to security to keep her away led the rest of the employees to believe there was something to this.

Kaiba groaned in frustration, trying to resist the urge to throw his computer on the wall...for the second time this week. He didn't know what was wrong with him, he should have been happy, everything was going smoothly with the company, but somehow he couldn't find it in himself to care. Everything around him seemed so lame, boring and insignificant, he wasn't even able to force himself to care about anything. He felt trapped, caged, overwhelmed by everything, he didn't no why, but he was suffocating. Anzu would be there in 34 minutes, she came every day at exactly eight thirty seven, he had no idea why she kept coming and it was bothering her, he made it clear that he didn't want to see her, he send her off, but she just wouldn't leave.

He thought he would be able to go back to his little life, like nothing had ever happened, but it didn't, she wouldn't let it happen, why won't she just leave him alone? His thoughts where interrupted by the phone, still angry, he picked it up and snapped. "What?"

"Someone's in a good mood." Mokuba replied, chuckling lightly.

Kaiba sighed, some of his anger dissipating upon hearing his little brother's voice. "Sorry, I had a bad day."

"More like a couple of bad weeks." Mokuba said. "Seriously Seto, do you know how many people you fired this week? Forty one, thirteen today. What's going on?"

"Nothing." Kaiba answered.

"Does it have anything to do with a certain brown haired girl I know who is coming to see you everyday but whom you obstinately ignore?" Mokuba asked knowingly.

"Are you spying me?" Kaiba asked, suspicious.

"I prefer to call it: watching over my favorite older brother. Did you two have a fight or something?" He asked.

Kaiba frowned. "No we did not have a fight because there is nothing whatsoever going on between me and Mazaki, got that?"

Mokuba sighed. "I know what you're doing. You realized you were starting to open up to her and it scared you so you're trying to push her away."

"Mokuba, I do not wish to have that conversation with you _again_."

"Seto please, I know it scares you to trust people, but you can't spend the rest of your life alone, just look at you, you have to open of to people, you _need _to. Come on Seto, what's the worst that could happen?"

"She could turn her back on me and try to use me, like everyone else."

"Maybe she won't." Mokuba said. "You'll never know if you don't give her a chance. You trust me, so why not her?"

"That's different, you're my brother." Kaiba replied.

"Family ties didn't stop ours from dumping us at an orphanage." Mokuba replied. "And just think about those last few years, we did nothing but argue, we probably wouldn't even be talking right now if Anzu hadn't been there. You're lonely Seto, you're only hurting yourself by pushing her away like that, you want to trust her, and you want her to trust you, but you're scared to do it, I think you should give yourself a chance."

* * *

Anzu was softly humming to herself as she walked outside of the café, coffee in hand, ready to head for Kaiba corp. though she had little hopes of actually seeing Kaiba, it was a little routine she was getting used to, she locked the door and turned around to find herself face to face with the blue eyed CEO.

* * *

I know, that was a long wait and the chapter is kinda small, but I wanted to post tonight and it's almost one in the morning....I'm tired. I'm sorry for the long wait, after my finals I've been extremely lazy, I've been away a lot and this chapter was amazingly hard to write, it's actually completely different than what I had planned.

What will happen next? Review to find out!!!!!!!


	16. Trying

Chapter 16: Trying

Anzu didn't expect to see someone standing behind her, startled, she took a step back, a small yelp of surprise escape her. She quickly recognized Kaiba and relaxed slightly. "Don't do that." She said, raising her hand to her heart and taking a deep breath. "You scared me." They both stared at one another in silence, Kaiba with his usual blank face while Anzu was openly showing her curiosity, wondering the reason behind his sudden appearance. "You could at least apologize." She said, the silence growing too uncomfortable for her.

"I could." Kaiba admitted, but didn't say anything more.

Anzu stared at him for a moment before chuckling. "Here." She handed him the large cup of coffee she was holding.

Kaiba didn't hesitate before taking it, he needed it, those past three weeks had been hell, he turned around and started walking back toward Kaiba Corp.

"You secretary is a bitch, she wouldn't let me in." Anzu said, catching up with him to walk beside him.

Kaiba smirked. "Stopping crazy fan girls from getting in my office is part of her job description."

"Are you calling me a crazy fan girl?" Anzu asked, being compared to a rabid teenage girl bothered her.....she had always hated them...

"You've been bringing me coffee everyday for the last two weeks even though I completely ignored you, I hardly call that sane." Kaiba replied.

"If you'd been ignoring me, you wouldn't be here." Anzu smiled knowingly.

Kaiba's mask slipped for a second, he knew she was right, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, wanting to come see her for the last three weeks. The little slip didn't go unnoticed by Anzu and she smiled, more sure of herself. "Why?" Kaiba asked.

Anzu frowned, confused. "Why what?"

"Why have you been coming? What reason do you have to do it?" Kaiba asked, half frowning, half glaring at her. "What do you want from me?" He added, more loudly.

Anzu stopped walking and looked up at him, slightly shocked by his outburst. "Nothing." She answered. Kaiba stopped to look back at her. "I don't want anything from you."

Kaiba glared slightly at her and then started walking again. "Everyone always does."

"Well I don't." Anzu shot back, jogging to catch up with him again.

"Then why are you doing this?" Kaiba harshly said.

"Because we're friend." Anzu answered.

Kaiba scoffed. "I thought I made it clear that I didn't need friends"

Anzu sighed, this was leading nowhere, he was pushing her out again. "Need or want?" Anzu asked. Kaiba looked at her, confused by her words. "Do we absolutely need friends to live? Maybe not. There is nothing stopping you from spending the rest of you life alone, like you've been doing so far. But is that what you want?"

Kaiba frowned, Mokuba had said the same thing.....but he wasn't so sure of it himself. Trusting someone else, making himself vulnerable to them, all it ever got him was betrayal and hurt. Why should he put himself at risk like that? But....he was here, he had wanted to see her... "I....don't know." He finally answered, his face softened, as he looked at Anzu.

Anzu smiled. "I think you do."

"It's not that easy." Kaiba answered.

"I never said it would be." She replied softly. "I know you've been hurt before, I understand that trusting people again is hard for you. I don't expect you to trust me instantly and I won't push it, but I do consider you a friend, Kaiba, I care about you and I'd never do anything to hurt you on purpose." Kaiba didn't say anything, he just looked at her, Anzu had never seem him look so...vulnerable before, almost like a lost child. Just then, she saw what Mokuba meant when he said his brother wasn't as strong as he seemed, he had been hurt, more than she probably would ever know, but behind all his fear she could see a small flicker of hope, he wanted to believe her, to trust her, and she was going to live up to that hope.

"I guess you have to get back to work." Anzu said, looking up at the Kaiba Corp building in front of them, on the other side of the road.

Kaiba looked at it as well, he hadn't noticed they were already back.

"I should get going too." Anzu added. "It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved and started walking away.

"Are you walking?" Kaiba asked.

Anzu turned around to give him a weird look, he almost sounded worried. "Yea, it's only a 15 minute walk."

"Alone during the night?" He wondered if she was crazy or something.

She sighed. "It's not like I have a choice, there is no bus taking me closer to my apartment and I can't afford a car." Kaiba rolled his head in exasperation as he walked toward her. "What are you doing?" Anzu asked as he passed in front of her.

"Taking you home." Kaiba said over his shoulder. "Now get moving, I don't have all night."

"I'm fine on my own." She said, running up to him to walk beside him.

"This isn't Domino, Mazaki, It's New-York for god's sake, a girl shouldn't walk alone during the night."

"I've been fine so far." Anzu argued, but then she smiled. "Aww, you care about me."

"I do care if you get mugged or worst." Kaiba replied, annoyed.

"Thanks." She said. "So, how was your day?"

* * *

"I swear she totally hates me." Anzu whined to Kaiba as they walked together toward her apartment. It had been like that for a little over a week.

_Flashback_

_The day after Kaiba came to the café, Anzu went straight to Kaiba Corp after her shift, this time, the secretary let her in Kaiba's office, though she didn't look pleased to do so. Kaiba was on the phone, in the middle of a heated argument about some stuff she didn't understand, when he saw her, he pointed to the little couch in the office for her to sat down, the argument continued for a few minutes until Kaiba slammed the phone down, cursing._

_Anzu stood up, walked up to the desk and put the cup of coffee down in front of him. Kaiba looked up at her and sighed, he took the coffee and laid back in his chair, thanking her before taking a sip._

"_Long day?"_

"_You have no idea." Kaiba stood up, grabbed his coat on the back of his chair and put it on._

"_Where are you going?" Anzu asked._

"_Taking you home."_

_End Flashback_

Each day, when she arrived at Kaiba Corp. Kaiba would stop whatever he was doing and take her home. She didn't think she needed the protection, she had been fine so far, she also refrained herself to tell him she was still walking outside alone from her work to Kaiba Corp. or that if he really was worried for her he could just send one of his bodyguard with her....they were following them everyday anyway. But she figured that he needed a reason for what he was doing, if only to make things easier on himself, and she wasn't going to stop him.

He was more talkative than he had been when he came to the café, before Christmas, well.....slightly more talkative. They did mostly small talk, 'how was your day', 'What's new' and harmless stuff like that. It's not like she had been expecting anything more, Kaiba wasn't going to open up instantly. But she thought she was slowly beginning to understand him a little. She noticed that he would never admit that he liked something, the only two emotion he ever expressed where complete indifference or disdain. She figured a lack of negative comment regarding something was his way of agreeing. She also noticed he had a tendency to be harsher with her whenever the conversation got on a more personal level, it seemed to be his reaction whenever he felt uncomfortable.

"You should have seen her, she kept criticizing me over just about anything." Anzu complained, for once, she was the one who had a bad day and needed to vent out.

Kaiba didn't show it, but it amused him to see her get so worked up like that. "Criticisms can be constructive, they help you get better."

Anzu sighed, she had a new teacher today at school and the old bat kept correcting her on everything she made. "But she didn't say anything to the other students."

"Maybe because she considered you to be the only one good enough to be worth her time." Kaiba said, before smirking as he added: "Or perhaps you were just so lame she couldn't stand it."

Anzu didn't frown, she was getting used to it, Kaiba never complimented anyone without insulting them afterward, especially her. Complimenting people was apparently something he wasn't comfortable with.

"Whatever her reason is," Kaiba continued, looking straight ahead. "criticisms will help you raise higher. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of the best, but being one of the best won't get you anywhere in this business, you have to be _the_ best, nothing less. If she can help you achieve that, then who cares if she's a total bitch?" Anzu stared, that had to be the best compliment he ever told her, she waited for the sneak remark but it didn't come.

Kaiba almost smiled at Anzu's expression, it was obvious she expected him to say something mean. It was what he usually would have done, but tonight he didn't feel like it, he truly believe what he just said and he didn't know why but he wanted her to know it.

"Thanks." Anzu said, smiling slightly, it actually meant a lot to her that Kaiba complimented her on her dancing.

He couldn't explain it, the way being around her made him feel better, more at ease. When he was with her, he felt like he could relax, that he could be more like himself, he didn't feel any expectations from her, unlike everyone else who expected him to be the best, always perfect. He couldn't say that he trusted her, but he hadn't let anyone get that close to him in at least then years. He wasn't sure yet at which point he felt comfortable with it, but he enjoyed her company.

* * *

Anzu yawned as she waited for the elevator to reach the top floor, it was Friday evening, the week had been extremely long and tiring, they were nearing mid terms. She stayed late at school everyday to practice her various routines with her classmates and study for exam and after that she still had to work. The door opened and she walked straight for Kaiba's office, just before she could knock, the secretary spoke to her.

"Mr. Kaiba is in a meeting, he will be a little bit late."

Anzu stepped inside the office and closed the door behind him, she would wait a little. She laid down on the couch and closed her eyes, trying to rest a little before he came back. It was the first time he wasn't there waiting for her, or at least she liked to think that he was waiting for her. She had wanted to leave him thirty minutes to show up before leaving.

* * *

Anzu sleepily opened her eyes to the bright morning sun, she groaned slightly and turned around, snuggling deeper into the comfort of the bed. She felt so good, she hadn't slept this well in so long. She stayed like that for a little while, until it registered in her head that her bed wasn't that comfortable. She opened her eyes again and looked around, the walls of the room she was in were a light shade of green, the sheets of the bed were dark green and the furnitures were made out of light wood, there was nothing on the walls nor on the furnitures. This obviously wasn't her room.

She sat up in bed, worried and confused. She looked at herself, she was still wearing her clothes. Hesitantly, she got out of the bed and walked to the door. Silently, she opened it and looked around her, the door led to a hallway, it was plain, no decoration nor anything to tell her where she was. On her right, the hallway led to three other doors, and her left it led to what she guessed was a living room. Quickly yet silently she made her way toward the living room.

The room was empty, all the furnitures appeared to be really expensive, but there was no decoration anywhere. It was obvious that whoever lived here didn't spend much time here, it didn't fell at all like a house at all. But where the hell was she and how did she get here?

"Slept well?"

The unexpected voice startled her, she turned around, gasping in fear. But the sight before her completely stunned her. Kaiba was standing in the entrance to the hallway she just came through, laying against the wall, his arms crossed over his very shirtless torso. His hair was yet, she guessed he had just come out of the shower.

Kaiba smirked as she straightened himself, he crossed the living room, grabbing a white shirt on one of the couches and putting it on. "You're staring." He said as he buttoned the front.

Anzu blushed as she forced herself to look away from him. She never considered herself to be the kind of girl to drool in front of a guy, but god he was sexy. "Where am I?" Anzu asked before Kaiba had any more chances to do any comment about her staring.

"I suppose you'd say it's where I live."

"Really?" Anzu said looking around. "It doesn't really look like you've been living here much."

"I haven't." Kaiba answered. "I only come here to sleep, shower and change. Mokuba kept commenting on how impersonal this place looks and how I should make some effort to decorate and give it a more 'home' feeling."

"And how did I get here?"

"I found you sleeping on the couch in my office." Kaiba walked inside the kitchen to make himself some coffee. "It was late and I was tired so I brought you here."

Anzu blushed. "Sorry, I guess I fell asleep." She apologized, following him in the kitchen.

Kaiba offered her a cup of coffee, she accepted it and sat down at the table. "So, what does the great Seto Kaiba do on a Saturday morning?"

Kaiba sighed. "He has meetings and other CEO things."

Anzu frowned. "You can't be serious. What time is it anyway?"

"Seven thirty." Kaiba answered, he emptied his cup in one shot and put in down on the counter. "I have to go, there's a bathroom in the bedroom you were in. When you'll be ready to leave, the door at the end of the hallway leads to my office, you know your way from there." He grabbed his suitcase and left the kitchen.

"You're not going to eat anything?" Anzu called out to him.

"Who are you? My mom?" Kaiba answered from the hallway before leaving.

Anzu sighed, she stared at her cup of coffee for a while then started to look around curiously. She was in Kaiba's home, Seto Kaiba's freaking home (supposing it could be called such). She was where every girl in the world wanted to be...and she was alone in it, it made her curious. It was extremely tempting to go snooping around, seriously, who wouldn't die for such an opportunity to check out the bedroom of THE Seto Kaiba (LA: I would). But she didn't, as curious as she was, she couldn't do that to him.

* * *

LA: Ok, it's new years eve, and yea, I have nothing better to do than write while watching all the end of year show (a shame there is no ByeBye this year). Sorry it took so long, I had my exams (as usual) and after that it was Christmas, I traveled a lot, helped my mom clean before the party at my house, party, then party, then another party, then an evening with my friend, then visiting my dad, and we have new years party tomorrow then I'm seeing other friends and I start school the 4th. Yea I know, it sucks. But as a new year resolution, I will update more, like I was doing at the beginning of school year, so, let's see, I'm setting next update to Friday the 8th.

Sorry nothing much happened, I started this chapter so long ago, but it is slowly getting somewhere, next chapter should move more.

Happy New Year, please review.


	17. Friends

Chapter seventeen: Friends

It was around nine thirty when Anzu reached her house. She was able to stop her curiosity and not snoop around in Kaiba's pseudo house, but nothing could have stopped her from taking advantage of the luxurious bathroom, so here she was, after 45 minutes in the most relaxing bath she ever took. She tried to get in without making any noise, but as soon as she opened the door of her apartment, she was met by Kate and Matt, who were both waiting for her, casually waiting for her, laying against the wall on both side of the small hallway, grinning.

"How was it?" Matt asked eagerly, his grin widened.

Anzu blinked. "What?"

"Come on Anzu." Katleen said. "You didn't came home last night and you are _sneaking_ in."

Anzu's eyes widened. "Oh..." She said in realization, she blushed a light shade of pink. "Perverts." She said, walking past them to go to her room.

"Oh, come on, we want details." Matt said, following her.

"You're not suppose to support me going out with him, you should hate him, remember?" Anzu said.

"Aha, so you're going out." Kate said.

"What? No!" Anzu yelled, her blush deepening. "What's wrong with you?"

Matt pouted. "Please, you've been going to see Kaiba everyday for the last two weeks, something must have happened between you two."

Anzu frowned. "There is nothing going on between Kaiba and me so stop bothering me every time I see him!" She walked past them and went to her room, closing the door behind her.

She let herself fall on her bed, which felt like a giant piece of rock compared to the one she had in Kaiba's guest room. Matt and Kate had been teasing her none stop for since she started seeing Kaiba and she knew she would never hear the end of it if she confirmed their suspicions about her sleeping over at Kaiba's, even if nothing happened.

Well...he did brought her in his apartment, he could have just let her on the couch in his office, or told her to get home, take her home or at the very least have someone else do it. He didn't even wake her up. Would he have done the same thing for anyone? Or was she special? She wanted to think the she was special, that would mean that she wasn't doing all this for nothing. Not that she was expecting something in return from Kaiba, but it would be good to know if he was opening up to her. But how could she know if he had any change in behavior if she didn't even know him before.

Her first impression of Kaiba hadn't been exactly good, she never saw him did anything but fight with Joey and treat everyone around him like dirt...but he did help out whenever there was real trouble. After all, he saved her life once, he said it was because he owed her for saving Mokuba, but she couldn't believe he would have let her get killed if she hadn't help his little brother escape. She doubted he was totally heartless, but that didn't help her in figuring out where she stood now. Kaiba's decision to bring her in his apartment probably meant something, but what?

* * *

Anzu sighed as she stepped out of the shower in the changing room, she was totally exhausted. Finals were only a week away, which meant Anzu had a lot of dances and other things to get ready, they were doing a show the last day of the term and it served as an exam so everyone was staying late after school to practice, it had to be perfect. It had been a week since Anzu fell asleep on the couch, she tried to thanks Kaiba but he just shrugged it off as nothing. He didn't really react either when she told him she wouldn't be able to see him for the next two weeks because she had late practices at school every night and her exams. His answer was 'Ok' with a little shrug.

This was going to be a long week two weeks....and it was only Monday. Anzu was the last one to leave, It was already past eleven and her apartment was twenty minutes away by foot... and she was already aching all over.

"Need a ride?"

Anzu looked up, Kaiba was there, leaning against a silver car, she wasn't a car lover nor did she knew anything about them, but she was pretty sure any guy would kill to have that one. It was one of those sporty ultra luxurious car that probably cost more than her parents' house. Of course she could let herself be outraged that some people had enough money to waste on expensive car while she had to work while going to school to eat or while some people didn't eat at all...or she could shut up and get in the most likely extremely comfy seat and let Kaiba take her home in less then 5 minutes where she could crawl into her less comfy than Kaiba's bed for a good night of sleep. _All hail capitalism. _Anzu thought as she crawled into the passenger seat.

"Do you even know how to drive?" She asked sleepily.

"I am the almighty Seto Kaiba, I know and can do everything."

"How does your ego even fits in this car?" Anzu asked, closing her eyes and enjoying the pleasure of not standing up.

"It's a convertible." Kaiba said as he started the car.

Anzu chuckled slightly, she was already half asleep, she hadn't ask Kaiba to pick her up and she never thought he would but she was glad he did. Kaiba watched her as she drifted to sleep, a content little smile on her lips. A small smile appeared on his face and his eyes softened slightly as he watched her, she was completely exhausted....and kinda cute like that. "You're staring." Anzu said, opening one eye to look at him.

Kaiba blinked and got out of the parking lot. "You're drooling on my car seat." He replied, Anzu mumbled something that sounded like 'I so did not' as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

Kaiba showed up to take her home all week, she didn't ask him to do it, he just did. She appreciated it, but she was still wondering whether or not she was anything to him, if he had opened up at all. Was there really a reason or was he just concerned for her safety. Then there was last night, he had been staring at her, and she wasn't half naked like he had been when he caught her, what was that about? He was there again when Anzu came out of practice, some time past eleven. Still leaning against the side of his car, he opened the passenger door for her.

"Why are you doing this?" Anzu asked as Kaiba sat on the driver's seat

"It's called being a gentleman." He answered as he started the car.

Anzu frowned. "I meant, why are you coming to pick me up after my practice?"

"Because the streets are not any safer if you go home later." Kaiba said.

"I'm serious, I don't see you offering rides to all the other girls at my school who are walking home right now, you could also just send someone. You even brought me into your house because I fell asleep in your office, you could have sent me home or let me there. I didn't even tell you what time I was getting out of practice, if you are here it means that you went out of your way to check it out. Why?"

"And why are you here?" Kaiba asked. "You've went out of your way to come and see me everyday after your work, even when I didn't want to see you."

"Because I think of you as a friend." Anzu said without hesitation. Her eyes widened slightly as she thought of something. "Does that mean that you consider me as a friend?"

"I wouldn't push it that far. And I'm still far from trusting you or anything." Kaiba said. "But I do enjoy your company."

Anzu smiled, ok, he didn't say she was a friend and made it clear that he didn't trust her not to stab him in the back at the first occasion, but at least she knew that she was going somewhere. She had succeeded in making herself a little place in Seto Kaiba's life. That was a good start.

* * *

Yea I know, it's a little short, but for the good of the story, I have to stop here. And I'm already a day late in updating. Next update will be next Sunday if nothing comes up. Such as my ex specifically asking to give me a surprise in person even after a hinted very strongly that I didn't want to see him. Gee, at this point I wonder if I shouldn't have broken our circle of friend in two by telling him I never wanted to see him again. Now I'll wonder what the hell he wants until I see him. And as you can figure, this doesn't put me in a really good love story writing mode. I'm going to take a long really hot bath and watch zombie land. Yea, mindless zombie killing always put me in a good mood. (I should have stayed 'offline' on msn)

So, next update should be around next Sunday, Don't forget to leave a review, I love it when you do.

Next chapter: The line between friends and love is really thin, don't you think?


	18. I believe I owe you a dance

Chapter eighteen: I believe I owe you a dance

Anzu stared right ahead as she slowly rocked back and forth on the bed of her room. She had cried all the tears of her body already. She couldn't understand how this could have happened, they were having such a good night. There wasn't anyone with her, she was alone and there wasn't a sound. She didn't want to stay here, she wanted to be with him but they wouldn't let her, they wouldn't tell her anything. Everybody told her she should try to sleep, but she didn't want to sleep....

It was her fault, it was all because of her...

* * *

Two days earlier.

Kaiba had brought her home after her practice everyday for the last two week, though she was usually tired, Anzu was still talkative most of the time, but today she was particularly silent. It was the day before her last exam, which consisted of a show in front of the teachers who would note your every more and every mistake. It was Thursday, Anzu had started her exam on Monday morning, both theoretical and practical exams, she had been studying none stop since the week before and she was exhausted. Therefore Kaiba didn't push it about her sudden lack of interaction, she was probably just tired.

Kaiba stopped the car in front of Anzu's apartment, after a few seconds of somehow awkward silence, Anzu opened the door and stepped outside. She lingered there for a few seconds, fidgeting with her hair. "You know, the final presentation is open to the public.....if you want to come." She said.

Kaiba snorted. "Why would I want to waste my time watching some loser wannabe moving around to sucking music thinking they actually have any chance of one day being successful?" Was Kaiba's answer.

Anzu frowned. "I was just telling you." She said as she closed the door of the car and walked inside her apartment building.

Anzu closed the door of her apartment a little more brutally than she intended to, she was slightly mad at Kaiba for his answer, that was insulting. But actually, she was more disappointed by his refusal to come than she was from his words. Way more disappointed then she should have been, she had just offered him to come out of courtesy. She never really expected him to come...after all, why would the great Seto Kaiba would want to waste some of his precious time watching a band of dancer wannabe? He had said that he kinda enjoyed her company, he never said that she was a friend or that he even cared for her. He had no reason nor any obligation to show any interest in her life.

Ok, so maybe she did hope he would come. She knew it was silly, but she couldn't help it. Kaiba was the only person she knew from Japan, being around him felt reassuring and familiar, everything was so different here. Her parents and her friends couldn't afford to travel to come and see her when she performed, Matt and Kate came a few times, but it wasn't the same, they weren't from home.

Anzu sighed as she entered the bathroom, it wouldn't do her any good to let herself be frustrated, she had to be in the right set of mind for her performance tomorrow, she couldn't let Kaiba's attitude affect her dancing. She decided to take a long, hot bath to relax before going to bed.

* * *

Anzu felt lonely as she waited for her turn to perform. All her classmates where peaking at the crowd to spot their friends or parents and such, but she had no one to find. Kate and Matt where both working tonight. Still, she hadn't been able to stop herself from peaking through the side of the curtain, but it only confirmed what she already knew: Kaiba wasn't there. It wasn't the first time no one came to cheer on her, she was used to it, she didn't need Kaiba or anyone else to be here. She pushed all her negative emotion in a corner of her mind, right now she needed to concentrate, she couldn't allow herself to feel sad or lonely during her routine.

After over an hour of watching her friends doing their routines, it was finally her turn. She walked on the stage and took her position with the three other girls who where on the routine with her. She quickly glanced at the audience as the music started and she saw him. He was there, leaning against the wall at the back of the small auditorium, smirking at her. Anzu's first thought was: _Freaking bastard._ He had made her believe for an entire day that he wouldn't come, that he didn't care. But those first thoughts where quickly replaced by the almost childish joy of knowing there was someone here to see _her_ and that she had someone to dance for. She smiled as she started dancing just for him, she would make it worth his time.

* * *

Her performance had been the last of the evening, after it, Anzu hurried to change back in her normal clothes and rushed inside the auditorium, where families and friends where all congratulating her classmates. Kaiba was still at the same spot, at the back of the room. She quickly walked up to him, she was still breathless from her dance and from hurrying to come back when she reached him. "I can't believe you are here." She said, trying to catch her breath. "You said-"

"I said..." He interrupted her. "that I wouldn't waste my time watching loser wannabes who didn't stand a chance of success." He smirked as he added: "What made you think you fit that description?"

Anzu stared at him, no idea what to say to that. "Jerk." She finally answered, though she couldn't stop herself from smiling, she was so happy that he came.

"Here." He held out a single yellow rose out to her.

Anzu felt herself blush lightly as Kaiba handed her the flower, she hoped her face was still flushed from her dance so it wouldn't show. "Thanks." She grinned as she concentrated her attention on the flower to hide her embarrassment.

Kaiba shrugged. "It is customary to bring flowers after a performance."

"I thought you are supposed to give red roses for congratulations and such..."

"Twenty five, actually. But your not about to see me walk around with a bouquet of red roses. The media would absolutely love it." Kaiba explained.

Anzu smiled as they both walked toward the door. So Kaiba actually knew the meaning of rose colors.....Yellow was used for friendship. So....that meant he accepted her as a friend? Kaiba opened the passenger door of the car to let her in, she smiled as she sat down, he always was the perfect gentleman around her, even if he sometimes added a sneak comment. She wasn't sure if he did it because he wanted to or just because he was raised like it, common courtesy appeared to be one of his most used explanation whenever he did something nice.

"So....How was it?" Anzu asked, hesitantly looking up at him.

Kaiba's first thought when Anzu danced was that she looked absolutely gorgeous and downright sexy...but those where thoughts that he would never ever say out loud. He smirked. "You're supposed to be the best of your class?" Ok, that was mean, but hey, he was still Seto Kaiba, he couldn't give a decent compliment even if his life depended on it.

Anzu scoffed. "As if you even know how to dance."

Kaiba's smirk only widened. "You'd be surprised."

Anzu snorted. "I'll believe it the day I see it."

"Is that a challenge?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

This time it was Anzu's turn to smirk. According to Matt, Mokuba was a good dancer and it was really probable that Kaiba knew how to as well. But no one ever saw him dance and you need more than simply know the moves to be able to dance. This could be fun. "Damn right it is. And once you lose, you'll have to admit that I am an excellent dancer and that you were drooling on the floor today while I was dancing."

* * *

Unfortunately for Anzu, she couldn't sleep in the next morning, she was still working and she really needed the money, now that Matt didn't have the financial support of his father (thanks to Kaiba but there was an unspoken accord between her and Matt not to bring it up.) it was harder to get by. They were trying to find a cheaper place to rent but they also had to find someone else to take the apartment. But still Anzu was in a good mood, she was convinced that all her exams went well and she had a good day at the job.

As she entered her room, Anzu found a box on her bed, it looked like a box used for clothes. "What's with the box?" She asked Kate, whose room was in front of hers.

Kate looked up from her book and shrugged. "Some guy wearing a suit and sunglasses brought it earlier, he didn't say what it was."

Intrigued, Anzu checked it out, there was an envelope on the box, she opened it and found a single piece of paper that said: _I believe I owe you a dance, be ready for 7. _The little card wasn't sighed, but she didn't need it to know it was from Kaiba. So he was actually going to go through with it.... But the question remained, could he really dance?

_

* * *

_

A little bit short, I know, but I haven't been home two weekend ago and last week was totally epic, it was the winter carnaval, I can't even remember what I did during the weekend except sleep and play Mario WII with my roommates (yea, sorry) I intended to put a second part to this chapter but it would be way to long, and since I'm already late and I have an exam Monday morning for which I really have to start studying, I decided to post this right now.

Now I'm sure you wonder, what the hell happened, or will happen, I should update some time after my exam.

Please drop in a review, I swear you'll love the next chapter. Well at least the first part of it.....


	19. Perfect beginning

Chapter nineteen: Perfect beginning...

"I don't believe you. You're bringing _Anzu_? As in Anzu Mazaki, the girl you swore you weren't involved with in any way?" Mokuba said thought the speaker on the phone. His voice part fake shock and part teasing voice.

"Yea, that one." Kaiba answered with an annoyed sigh as he got dressed to go to work. "And there is still nothing going on between us so get that out of your head already." Of course his little brother just had to call this morning and he was somehow able to make him tell about his plans for the evening. He immediately regretted telling his brother that he was bringing Anzu with him to the business party one of his associates was organizing this evening. Now he was in for a world of torture.

"_Still."_ Mokuba quoted, Kaiba could practically hear the smirk on his little brother's face. His little brother always had a thing to twist his words to his liking. "But that could all change after your date tonight."

"There is no date." Kaiba snapped. "You insisted that I should make more public appearance because it would be good for my image. Bringing her gives me an excuse not to waste my entire evening conversing with people who want to offer deals I don't give a damn about."

"And if you play your cards right..." Mokuba mischievously said.

"How many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing. It is not a date and I am not going to go out with Mazaki. Ever. Got it?" Kaiba said sharply, his patience was wearing thin under Mokuba's constant teasing.

"Yeeeaaaaaaa. Sure, if you say so." Mokuba said in a tone that only made Kaiba more on edge.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm coming home."

Mokuba froze, there was no way he heard that right. "You're what?"

"You heard me." Kaiba said. "Business is good, I'm not needed here anymore. I have to go. I'll see you in a few days." Kaiba said before ending the call

Mokuba stared at the phone. There was no way he heard that right. Seto was coming back to Japan? He'd been waiting for over two years to hear that, it should fill him with joy, but somehow it didn't.

Anzu had trouble believing that the person she was seeing in the mirror was her. The box had contained a dress, some jewelry and a pair of matching sandals. The dress was a midnight blue strapless satin dress. It hugged every curves of her body perfectly down to her waist, where is flowed more freely around her legs, all the way to her ankles. The sandals were the same color as the dress, the heels were about one inch and a half long. There was also a necklace made with a large silver band with blue stone in the middle, shaped like a teardrop and a pair of matching earing made with the same stones. Anzu figured they had to be sapphire. She put on a light make-up, slightly curled her hair and let them loose.

She felt uncomfortable wearing this, the dress alone was probably worth more than she did in three months, without counting for the jewelry. Anzu was pretty sure they weren't fake, Seto Kaiba wouldn't buy fakes. Still, even though her outfit was fairly simple, it still felt outrageous to her.

The doorbell rang at exactly 7 o'clock. Anzu checked herself one last time in the mirror before walking to the door. As she opened the door, Anzu thanked god that Kate and Matt were working tonight, they would never let her hear the end of that one. Kaiba stood there, dressed in a formal black suit. "Are you ready?"

"Um..Yea....I guess." Anzu said hesitantly, she grabbed her coat, closed the door of her apartment and followed Kaiba down the building and outside to the limo. Being a gentlemen, Kaiba held the door for her as she got in, before following her inside. Anzu tried not to be upset by Kaiba's lack of comment on how she looked or anything. It wasn't like this was an actual date or anything. They were just two barely friend going out on a stupid bed about dancing. He even had to get her a dress...

"So....where are we going?" Anzu asked after a few moments of silence.

"Business party."

Anzu raised an eyebrow questioningly. "A business party? I thought you were supposed to show me you could dance."

"There is dance there and I'm hoping it will be a good enough excuse not to talk to anyone." Kaiba answered.

Anzu frowned. "I thought the point of business party was to talk to people to plan possible associations."

Kaiba shrugged. "These things are boring as hell."

Anzu raised an eyebrow. "So you're going just to show me that you can dance?"

Kaiba smirked. "That's the plan. But I still have to decide what I want once I win."

Anzu smirked back. "Keep on dreaming. It takes a lot to impress me."

The limo eventually stopped, Kaiba stood out of the limo and held his hand out to her. Unlike when she went out with Matt, there wasn't a crowd of reporter waiting at the entrance of the building. She guessed it was more private, nothing like the charity ball where everyone who was anyone was invited. Seto led her inside, the party was held in one of the many luxurious hotel of New-York, lucky for her, it wasn't the hotel where she had worked last summer and where Kate was still working.

The ballroom was big, though not as big as the one in the Casa Loma hotel. There where maybe two hundred people present, there were maybe 30 or 40 tables around the room except for one area where couples were already dancing. Anzu smirked. "Are you sure you still want to go through with it? You can still walk away with your ego intact."

"You seemed eager to get your ass kicked." Kaiba answered with a smirk of his own. "But it would be impolite not to greet our host first. Don't you think?"

"I think you are just delaying the inevitable." Anzu told him with a smile as he gently locked his arm with hers and led her through the room. Anzu tried not to blush or think about their sudden proximity, as far as she could remember, she had never been that close to him. There had always been this invisible bubble around him that appeared to say: 'enter and you will die' around him. She had always thought the he didn't like physical contact. "So...Who is this host?" She asked to try to distract herself.

Kaiba smirked, not just a normal smirk, the official Seto Kaiba smirk, one that she hadn't seen in months. "A new associate of mine. Kaiba Corp played a great part in the development of the new product being launched today and of course their success is my success."

Kaiba led her toward a group of 5 men who where talking in the middle of the room. They stopped talking when Kaiba and Anzu approached. Anzu didn't recognized them, except for one, a tall, broad man with sharp features and short gray hair. He glared at Kaiba than looked at her for a second, recognition lit his eyes and he only glared more fiercely at them both. Anzu flinched slightly at the murderous look, she instinctively tried to take a small step back and hide slightly behind Kaiba but his firm grip on her arm prevented her to do so.

"Mr. Kaiba." Jeremiah Bristel said in a forced and really unconvincing polite tone as he faked a smile. "I'm so glad you could join us."

Kaiba smiled back, though it looked more mocking. "I wouldn't miss it for anything. I believe you remember Anzu."

Mr. Bristel frowned at her. "A pleasure to see you again. Miss Mazaki." He said while his eyes threw daggers at her.

"The pleasure is all mine." Anzu answered as politely as she could.

"If you'll excuse us. Have a pleasant evening." Kaiba said as he pulled Anzu back and away from the group of men.

"Your associate is Matt's father?" Anzu asked once they were far enough from the man.

Kaiba was still smirking. "Yea, business hasn't been good for him lately. He didn't have any choice but to turn to me for his new project." He said as he turned toward her. "But enough of that. I didn't came here for business." Kaiba held out his left hand to her. Anzu hesitantly put her right hand in his and followed him to the dance floor, smoothly they got into position and started to a slow and simple waltz.

Anzu absentmindedly followed Kaiba's lead, her thoughts where somewhere else entirely. After a little while, Kaiba frowned. "Come on, Mazaki, I know you're better than that. What's on your mind?"

Anzu sighed. "Where here today because you used a picture of Matt and Rylan together to force his father out of an important deal. That's why is business has been bad, you blackmailed him."

Kaiba smirked. "That's an awfully negative way of putting it. I prefer to consider this an exchange of service."

Anzu glared up at him. "How can you be so casual about this? What you did isn't right. Don't you even feel bad about it?"

Kaiba sighed. "What in the world actually gave you the impression that I am a good person?" Kaiba asked. "I'm the leader of a multinational corporation. I've forced hundreds of small company into bankruptcy, took away the jobs of thousands of people who had families to support, dozens of people committed suicide because of me, including my own step father, I have personally destroyed the lives of countless people to bend them to my will or simply because I felt like it and I used my own little brother to take the company from Gozaburo." Kaiba frowned down at her. "I've blackmailed a lot of people before and I'll do it again and so much more, Anzu. There is no such things as morals, respect, loyalty or honor in the business world. Everyone of these people act all nice to one another, but they wouldn't hesitate to back stab me and I'd do the same to them without any second thoughts.

Anzu's glare faded as Kaiba spoke, she looked up at him with an apologetic smile. "That's not true." she said softly. "I know that deep down you are a good person, you just live in a twisted world." She said as she leaned against him. "I've seen you Seto. Even if only for a second." She felt Kaiba stiffened at the memory of the night when she confronted him about Mokuba. "I know that you're afraid to be like them. To turn into a heartless bastard like you step-father was. You're also lonely and you're longing for someone you could trust but your so afraid of them turning against you."

Kaiba relaxed a little and let his head rest of top of hers. "I can't afford to be soft, Anzu. I can't afford to care for everyone who might get hurt by my actions. You have to understand that." They danced like that in comfortable silence for a while, until the song ended and Anzu spoke.

"Is that all you can do?" She stepped away and looked up at him, challenge in her eyes.

Kaiba smirked. "I recall you only asked on my ability to dance. Nothing more."

Anzu smirked back. "Please, that barely qualifies as dancing, a five years old could do that."

Kaiba closed the distance between them as a new, faster song began. "Then I guess I should heat things up a bit. Just try to keep up and not embarrass me too much." He said as he swiftly started dancing.

Anzu followed his lead though the dance floor as they twirled. This time, the dance was quicker, more fluid and much more intimate. Kaiba was good, much more so than she had expected. Each one of his moves where perfect, yet fluid and gracious as he moved with her and spun her around. Anzu closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, how their bodies moved perfectly together, the feeling of his body against hers in such an intimate way, how she would instantly miss the sensation every time they parted and the intense satisfaction of returning in his embrace afterward.

The song ended as Kaiba lowered her backward. Anzu was panting slightly, her cheeks were slightly flushed from the physical effort amongst other things as she looked up at him, his face only a few inches fro hers. He was breathing a little harder than usual but there was a faint smile on his lips and his eyes....Anzu had never seen his eyes burning with so much passion before. Kaiba lowered his eyes toward hers, Anzu's heart all but jumped out of her chest in anticipation and excitation, but just at that moment, Bristel announced for dinner to be served. Kaiba frowned as he straightened himself and pulled Anzu up. It took her all her will not to whimper from the loss when Kaiba let her go.

"Unless you want to spend the next two hours enduring speeches about business, I suggest we get the hell out of here." Kaiba said, he handed his hand out to her and they made their way to the exit. All the way, he wondered what the hell was wrong with him? He had almost kissed her. Honestly, he couldn't pretend that right now he didn't want her. She was, after all, extremely attractive and dancing with her like that really got to him furthermore he hadn't been with anyone in a long while. Still, it wasn't simply want or lust that he was feeling, it was different, much more than that, something he had never felt before... He should put an end to this, he shouldn't let thing go on this way but he just couldn't stop himself...he didn't want to.

"So...what do we do now?" Anzu asked as she put her coat over her dress and they walked outside of the hotel.

Kaiba smirked. "Now I'm collecting my prize by taking you out for dinner." The limo stopped in front of them and Kaiba opened the door for her.

Anzu shook her head as she got in. "Is there anything you can't do?" She asked as Kaiba sat next to her.

Kaiba chuckled. "No, I'm absolutely perfect in every way."

Kaiba took her to one of the most luxurious restaurant of the city, where you usually had to make a reservation months in advance. But being Seto Kaiba had a lot of advantages. The waitress, a young blond woman, brought them to a small table in a relatively more intimate part of the dinning room. Kaiba ordered a bottle of wine and the waitress left.

"You don't have to do all this." Anzu said as Kaiba held out her chair.

"It's called being a gentleman." Kaiba answered as he sat down in front of her.

"Not that...I mean....taking me out like that, buying me a dress, it makes me uncomfortable that you are wasting money on me like that."

Kaiba shook his head, an amused smile on his lips. "Mazaki, I make ridiculous amounts of money, so much that I don't even know what to do with it anymore."

Anzu looked down. "Still-"

"Anzu." Kaiba said sternly. Anzu looked up at him, startled. "You didn't ask me for anything, I'm the one who dressed you up and dragged you out here. You don't need to concern yourself about how I choose to use my money. Also, I don't feel like I've wasted anything. You look absolutely stunning and I haven't enjoyed myself like this in a really long while."

Anzu blushed deeply and looked away from him. Kaiba smirked as he looked at her, somehow he found her to be very cute when she blushed...and it was so easy to make her. He liked that about her, all her emotions where so easy to read on her face. Much to Anzu's relief, the waitress came back with a bottle of wine, she poured each of them a glass and took their order. Anzu quickly took a small sip of her wine, it was a good distraction from looking directly at Kaiba. "Is it really ok for us to be out in the open like that?" She asked, trying to change the subject. "What if someone sees us?"

Kaiba shrugged as he drank some of his wine too. "If I cared about that I'd never get out of my house. Beside, there's nothing to hide, isn't it?"

Anzu smiled slightly as she looked down and drank some more. He was right, there was nothing to hide, they were only two friends going out on a friendly evening as friends. Somehow, it didn't left her as indifferent as it should have. "I guess not... So, what are your plans for the spring break? Is Mokuba coming over?" She asked, more happily. It had been a while since she last saw Mokuba.

"No, he's not." Kaiba answered.

Anzu frowned. "Really? Why not?"

Kaiba sighed. "I'm going back to Japan, in a day or two."

Anzu smiled. "Really? I wish I could go visit too."

Kaiba looked away from her. "I'm not visiting..." He explained. "I'm moving back there...permanently." He looked up at her.

Anzu's eyes widened slightly as Kaiba told her the news, but she was able to keep a straight face. "Oh..."

"Business has been good lately, and now that I no longer have Bristel in my way, I don't have any reason to stay here anymore." Kaiba explained, still not looking at her.

Anzu smiled lightly, but it was a forced smile. "That's good. Mokuba must be thrilled." Anzu felt horrible at herself for the way she felt. She should be happy for him, his business was good, he was going back to his brother who needed him. But knowing that he was leaving made her feel sad and even betrayed. Mentally, she snorted at herself, who was she kidding? She wasn't an important part of his life, so they were some sort of friends, that didn't mean that he had to take her into consideration. She didn't stop herself from coming here because of her friends, she couldn't expect him to... But it still hurt her a lot to learn that he was leaving. She didn't want to lose him.

Kaiba shrugged. "I guess, we didn't really have time to talk about it much. I didn't want to tell him before it was official, in case something came up."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the evening was spent doing small talks of things or another, but things were different. She couldn't bring herself to be as happy as she should have been and somehow Kaiba acted differently too, less opened than he had been at the beginning of the evening, as if the news of him moving away suddenly put a wall between them. They got out some time after ten, the air was chilly and Anzu shuddered despite her coat. She saw the limo pull out of the parking lot toward them, she sighed, this could be the the last time she would see him for a long while. She didn't want the evening to end just yet.

"How dare you, you ugly bitch?"

Surprised and confused, Anzu turned around to see who talked. A young woman was standing ten feet away from her, she was petite and had long, dirty black hair, but what really caught Anzu's attention was the demented look in her eyes. The woman raised a gun and pointed it at her. Anzu didn't fully have time to realize what was happening, something suddenly blocked her view of the woman she heard the loud banging of the gun three times, followed by a blinding pain took over her body before she felt herself fall.

As quickly as it came, the pain quickly faded and concentrated on her shoulder, it hurt so much Anzu could barely think straight. It took her a few second to put her thoughts back together. She heard the sound of fighting, the woman was yelling. Disoriented, Anzu tried to sit up but there was a weight keeping her down. She opened her eyes, Kaiba was half laying on top of her. "Kaiba?" He didn't respond, Anzu put her hand in his side, trying to get a response from him but he didn't move, but she felt something wet on her hand, she pulled it away and stared at the weird substance.

Her eyes widened when she was her hand covered in blood. Panicked, she rolled Kaiba off of her and on his back as she sat up. His eyes were closed, his mouth partly open and she could see the white shirt he was wearing under his suits getting more and more soaked with blood. She shook him a little and called out his name over and over again, getting progressively louder as panic took over but he didn't respond. Suddenly, she was pushed away. Sitting on the ground, she stared in shock as the man who shoved her aside rapidly checked for a pulse and put pressure on the wound. That's when she understood: Kaiba put himself between her and the woman, he got shot protecting her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm so evil.

Review everyone, if you do, I'll take a break of my study update before my exam week in two weeks to update.


	20. Crisis

Definitely, killing characters is an excellent way to making you review. Seriously, I got twice as many review as I usually get.........I actually never got this many for one chapter in all my writings.

Chapter twenty: Crisis

Everything was going so fast, yet so slowly. One bodyguard was holding down the woman who shot, her gun on the sidewalk, out of reach from her. She was trying to get free and yelling while glaring at her. A few people where starting to gather around, wondering what was going on. The second bodyguard was still trying to get a response out of Kaiba while talking in a cell phone. But all those things were invisible to Anzu. She couldn't see or hear anything but Kaiba. His shirt was completely red from his blood, his breathing was steadily becoming slower, more shallow and labored.

She couldn't move, couldn't do anything but stare in shock. Eventually, the paramedics arrived and took over. Anzu didn't even notice when they got there. One of them came to her, he tried to get her attention but she paid him no mind. She saw them tending to Kaiba until they brought over a stretcher and took him away in the ambulance. He never moved or woke up. All this time she could do nothing, she couldn't move or speak and was totally oblivious to everything going on around her.

There was only one thought in her mind: Kaiba was going to die and it was her fault

* * *

Mokuba let out a loud, tired sigh, as he laid on his side, taking several seats of the plane. "Why is America so damn far away from Japan?" He whined as he rolled on his back.

Seating a few seats away from the youngest Kaiba, Roland chuckled. "Let me remind you that you are the one who requested such an impromptu trip halfway around the globe."

"What the hell was I thinking when I decided that?" Mokuba asked.

Roland smiled. "That you love you brother very much. We'll be there in less than three hours." He added.

At that time, a young flight attendant appeared from the front of the plane. "Mr. Roland. There's a call for you."

Roland excused himself before standing up and followed the flight attendant out of the passenger area. Although his principal duty was to watch over Mokuba, he was also the chief of security at Kaiba Corp. therefore, he was often called for various situation. Mokuba returned to his contemplation of the ceiling as he waited for his return. Whatever matter needed Roland's attention wasn't his concern, he didn't actually do much for Kaiba Corp. and didn't really care to know what was going on there every second of the day.

However, when Roland came back, he knew that this time, things were different. In all his life, he had rarely seen the bodyguard show any kind of real worry but right now, he appeared completely out of it. Colors had faded away from his face, his eyes showed deep concern and fear and he was agitated.

Mokuba sat up straight in his seat, Roland had seen a lot of things in his life and there were only a few things that could make the head of security lose his cool like that. Either the Kaiba Corp. building had just blown up in a nuclear explosion or... "What happened? Is Seto ok?" Roland averted his eyes away from the younger Kaiba for half a second, enough for Mokuba to have his answer. "Tell me what happened!" Mokuba asked, his eyes widening as panic and fear quickly took over.

Roland looked down and took a deep breath. "There has been an accident." He said. "Mr. Kaiba has been shot. He's being taken to a hospital."

"Shot?...How serious?" Mokuba asked, completely frozen by the news.

"I don't have any details so far. But it doesn't look good."

Mokuba closed his eyes and bit his lower lip as he thought of the next course of action. Once he had decided, he looked up at Roland and gave his instruction. "Tell the pilot he has two hour to get us in New-York. I want every available security employee on the move. It won't be long before the news get to the media, I don't want any reporter, or anyone else who isn't a medic anywhere near Seto." Mokuba stopped and checked his watch and frowned. "Seto was going out with Anzu tonight." His fear and worry increasing even more as he thought of what could have happened to her.

Roland frowned. "I'll check it out." He said before leaving to call back and give Mokuba's order. The teen sighed and let himself fall back on his seat, he face hidden in his arm, knowing the next two hours would be the longest of his life.

* * *

Anzu stared right ahead as she slowly rocked back and forth on the bed of her room. She had cried all the tears of her body already. She couldn't understand how this could have happened, they were having such a good night. There wasn't anyone with her, she was alone and there wasn't a sound. She didn't want to stay here, she wanted to be with him but they wouldn't let her, they wouldn't tell her anything. Everybody told her she should try to sleep, but she didn't want to sleep.....

It was all her fault, it was all because of her....The attack kept playing over and over again in her mind. The crazy look in the woman's eyes as she raised the gun toward her. Kaiba, putting himself between them, putting his arms around her in a protective embrace. The way his hold on her tightened around her as the woman shot him. The pain in her shoulder as one of the bullet grazed her. Kaiba's weight, pulling her on the ground with him. His clothes turning red from all the blood. The body guard, trying to keep him alive. Her hands and the dress he got her covered in his blood. All those images kept flashing in her mind every time she closed her eyes..

Everything else was a blur, she couldn't remember getting to the hospital. There was still a dull pain in her shoulder, someone had tended to it, but she couldn't remember who or when. All she wanted was to see Kaiba but for all she knew, he could be dead. She stayed there, praying over and over again that he would be safe.

* * *

When Mokuba got out of the plane, there was already a limo, along with three bodyguards, waiting for him. "What's the situation?" He asked a man in his mid thirty as he passed in front of them.

The three bodyguards fell in step behind him, as the one in the middle spoke. "Mr. Kaiba is still in intensive care, he's been shot three times in the back. The attacker's name is Helena Rosenberg, she has been escorted out of the Kaiba Corp. building three time in the last three months. Mentally instable with an obsession over Mr. Kaiba. She has been arrested, but we didn't get anything really useful out of her and the gun wasn't registered. Apparently, her target was Miss. Mazaki. Mr. Kaiba stepped between them to protect her."

"What about Anzu, how is she?"Mokuba asked.

"One of the bullet got through Mr. Kaiba and injured her. But it was only a flesh wound. We made sure she was treated quickly and installed comfortably in a room. However she seems to be in a state of shock, she won't respond to anyone. Two guards have also been assigned to watch over her."

Mokuba frowned. "What about his bodyguards, who was on duty?"

"The guards on duty tonight were MacKenzie and Anderson."

Mokuba nodded. "Alright.... I'll talk to them later. Has the medias hear about this?"

The older men nodded. "They are camped in front of the hospital, some managed to get in but we've placed security around to prevent them from getting anywhere near any of them."

The younger Kaiba nodded. "Take me to the hospital. I want to see Anzu first." He told the driver as he got into the limo, Roland following him. The three other bodyguards stepped into another car and followed the limo.

* * *

When they reach the hospital, there were a dozen reporter waiting in front of the main entrance. The bodyguards stepped out of the other car and opened the door of the limo, Mokuba stepped outside, quickly followed by Roland and the other bodyguard. All four of them keeping everyone away from the younger Kaiba as he walked toward the doors of the hospital. Reporters tried to get a good shot and asked millions of questions about Kaiba but Mokuba ignored them all, he didn't have time to waste on them. Keeping on his best business face, he walked up the stairs leading to the front door and walked in.

"Where's Anzu?" Mokuba asked.

"Room 507." The same bodyguard from earlier answered.

Mokuba nodded. "I trust you to take care of things until I'm done." He said, looking at the older man. "Roland." He turned his head toward the other man. "Go check on Seto then come to Anzu's room." Roland and the other guard nodded and left, leaving Mokuba alone with the two other bodyguards who followed him to the fifth floor.

Room 507 wasn't hard to find...there aren't many hospital room with two large men in suits guarding the door. They both nodded at Mokuba as he arrived, the teen knocked on the door but got no answer so he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he didn't need bodyguards here.

There was a small lump on the hospital bed, Mokuba got closer and saw Anzu, lying on her left side in a fetal position, there were tears silently falling down on her face and she was staring blindly at the wall in front of her, she was wearing a hospital gown and her right shoulder was wrapped in bandages. "Anzu." Mokuba called gently as he walked next to the bed.

Anzu blinked, she recognized that voice, it sounded...like Kaiba, she hazily looked up, hoping against all hope that it was possible. But the person she saw, sitting down on the bed next to her with a worried look wasn't Kaiba...well at least not the one she hoped to see, although it was just as improbable for him to be there as well, he should be in America...there was no way he had the time to travel all the way here so fast. "Mokuba?"

Mokuba smiled softly. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"How...What are you doing here? You shouldn't..." The surprise of seeing Mokuba here temporarily distracting her from the horrible present situation.

"I was already on my way here...I wanted to do a little surprise to Seto." Mokuba explained.

When she heard Kaiba's name, Anzu suddenly remembered what had happened. Her eyes widened and she suddenly sat up. "How is Kaiba? Is he.....is he ok?"

Mokuba frowned, he had no idea how Seto was and he was worried too... "I don't know..."

A new set of tears rolled down Anzu's cheeks. "It's all my fault. That woman....he got in the way. Why did he have to put himself in front of me like that?"

Mokuba took Anzu in a tight embrace, she had always been so cheerful and strong, it hurt him to see her suffering like that. "Whatever his reasons were, it was his decision. You had nothing to do with it. And you are not responsible either for the actions of that woman."

"But-"

"There is no but, Anzu. I don't want you thinking like that." Mokuba said, letting go of her to look in her eyes. "It is not your fault. If I had been in your place...would you think it was my fault Seto got hurt?"

"...of course not." Anzu answered softly.

"So why are you blaming yourself now?" Mokuba asked.

Anzu looked down, she wouldn't blame Mokuba if it had happened to him, but she still couldn't stop herself from feeling it was her fault. "If you had been in my place, would you blame yourself?"

Mokuba's eyes widened slightly out of surprise, he hadn't expected that answer...he sighed. "Yea..." He admitted, in fact, there were a lot of things he felt responsible for, even though he knew it wasn't his fault. "I know there's nothing I can say to make you feel better. But I'm here for you. Ok?"

Anzu nodded. Just after, there was a soft knock on the door and Mokuba invited the person in. Roland stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. "So?" Mokuba asked, anxiously.

"Mr. Kaiba is still in the operation room. I couldn't get more info."

Mokuba sighed, he had hoped for at least a little piece of info that would ease his worry regarding his brother. "He's hanging on so far....that's something, at least." He said, before looking back at Anzu. "Anzu, I'm sorry to ask you this...but I need you to tell me what happened."

Anzu tensed up visibly, she had been haunted by flashed of the attack ever since it happened, she didn't want to live it another time and somehow, it felt like relating it would only make the situation even more real.

"I know it's hard, Anzu. But I really need to find out. If someone is out after you or Seto then I have to find out who it is."

"I don't remember much..." Anzu said. "It's all foggy and..." Anzu said, looking as she pulled her knees closer to herself.

Mokuba smiled encouragingly. "It's ok. Just tell me everything you can remember."

Anzu took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to put her thoughts together. "We...came out of the restaurant and....I saw the limo coming out of a parking to pick us up Then...I heard someone...the woman, she...she insulted me." Anzu frowned. "I turned around to see who it was, she raised a gun and.....I didn't really see what happened after that.....Kaiba put himself in front of me, I heard the shots and then I fell down with Seto...I don't remember much after that......one bodyguard pushed me out of the way to take care of Seto and the other one was holding down the woman...."

Mokuba frowned. "How far was the woman when she attacked you?"

Anzu shrugged. "I don't know.....maybe ten feet? She was really close.

"Did you see any bodyguard around, before the attack?" Roland asked.

Anzu looked up at him, a confused look on her face. "I....I don't think so.....well......I didn't see anyone but I wasn't really paying attention, I might not have seen him."

Mokuba and Roland exchanged a grave look which only confused Anzu even more. Mokuba stood up and took out his cell phone and handed it to Anzu. "You should call your friends and family. The news of the attack is everywhere, they might be worried about you. I have some things to take care of. There are guard posted outside of your room so you'll be safe while I'm gone. Ask them if you need anything, alright?"

Though she didn't want Mokuba to leave, Anzu nodded.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Try to sleep a little. I promise to tell you as soon as I have any news about Seto."

Mokuba walked out of the room with Roland close behind. They walked back to the elevator in silence. Mokuba spoke only when they were both alone in the elevator, on their way back to the first floor. "What do you think are the odds that a psychotic fan girl with an illegal gun happened to walk in front of that restaurant just as Anzu and Seto came out and somehow managed to get this close to them without the bodyguards recognizing her and stop her?"

Roland frowned. "I believe you already know my answer."

Mokuba frowned back. "Then it means there is more to this than what we first thought."

* * *

Sorry about the long wait, I did start the chapter before my exams and even wrote between exams, but I still couldn't finish it on time before leaving for my vacation.


	21. Search

Chapter 21: Search.

Mokuba stepped outside of the limo, in front of the high class restaurant, the scene of the attack. He had just spent two hours in a plane, hoping for his brother to be alright....he couldn't stand to just wait and feel helpless, he had to occupy his mind, so he might as well figure out what happened. There was a police line delimiting the perimeter but other then a couple of cops keeping watch, the place was mostly deserted. There was nothing more to see here, everyone had moved to the hospital to try and get the story first. Mokuba got closer to the line, paling slightly when he saw the huge stain left by his brother's blood.

One of the two officers went to meet them. "Mr. Kaiba." He said, lightly bowing his head.

Mokuba nodded back. "What can you tell me about what happened?" He asked, not willing to waste any time on little talk, he had to find out what happen and who was behind the attack for his brother and Anzu to be safe.

The policeman frowned. "I cannot spea-."

"I am not in the mood for this kind of crap. I just spent 14 hours in a plane and my brother was attacked, if you don't tell me what I want to know, I swear I'll make you regret it every day for the rest of your life." Mokuba glared fiercely down at the man, his glare almost identical as his brother's, the officer became as white as a sheet under Mokuba's menacing look.

"I don't know much." The man said, taking a step to the side so that Mokuba could see the sidewalk. "They came out of the restaurant and where attacked almost instantly. The limo was coming from this side...." He pointed to Mokuba's right. "witnesses say that the woman came from around the corner." He pointed to the left. "The bodyguard jumped out to help, the woman tried to flee but one of them caught her while the other one tended to your brother."

Mokuba looked at the parking where the limo had been parked. It was on the opposite side of the street, giving the driver a good view of the front of the restaurant. The driver had probably seen Helena coming toward his brother, but had been too far away to do anything. The restaurant was a corner building, if the woman was parked on the other side, then the driver couldn't have seen her. However, the restaurant wasn't that big and it had a lot of windows...so she could have been watching to see when Seto and Anzu were leaving to make her way to the front door just at the right time. But there was still one thing that didn't fit. There should have been a second bodyguard closer to Seto...Anzu said she didn't see him, so where was he? "Wait...." Mokuba frowned. "Did you say that the bodyguards came out of the limo? Both of them?"

The policeman shrugged. "Look, I don't really know much of what happened, I'm just telling you what I've heard, it might not be accurate. I've told you what I know, I have nothing more to say." The older man walked away from them, probably eager to get as far away as possible from Mokuba.

Mokuba frowned. "That's two people saying there was no bodyguard near Seto." He said.

Roland shrugged. "I wouldn't put too much trust in eye-witnesses. They are usually biased and unreliable. Mrs Mazaki was in shock and admitted herself that she wasn't paying much attention to anything except Mr. Kaiba. Furthermore we are trained to be as invisible as humanly possible."

"Then I guess our next step is to talk to those bodyguards."

* * *

Mokuba and Roland made their way to Kaiba Corp, where Anderson and Mackenzie where waiting. "Who was the driver?" Mokuba asked as they stepped inside Kaiba's office.

"Anderson." Roland answered.

"I'll start with him, call him in." Mokuba instructed as he sat down on his brother's chair.

Anderson was a man in his early thirty with short dark brown air and built like a bull, exactly what you'd expect from a bodyguard. He nodded in greeting to Mokuba and sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

"I apologizes for having you wait so long." Mokuba said.

The bodyguard shook his head. "Not at all sir....How is Mr. Kaiba?"

Mokuba shrugged. "We don't know yet. You were the driver, I want to know everything you saw."

The older man nodded. "We arrived at the restaurant a little before nine. Mackenzie went in with them, he said everything was clear inside, I watched outside for anyone coming in our out. There was nothing out of the ordinary. They came out slightly after ten, Mackenzie came out first, I started the limo and went to pick them up. I didn't really see what happened, I was more concentrated on driving, I saw a woman raise a gun, I didn't see where she came from, by the time I could get there, Mackenzie had stopped her but Mr. Kaiba was on the ground."

Mokuba frowned. "Eye-witnesses say that Mackenzie wasn't with Seto when the attack happened."

Anderson frowned back." I assure you that he was, he went in with Mr. Kaiba and came out at the same time as him. He didn't left the restaurant in between."

Mokuba sighed. "Alright. If you remember anything..."

The man stood up and promised to tell him if he could think of anything that might help before leaving. Roland then called in Mackenzie. The other bodyguard was a lot younger than Anderson, maybe in his late twenty. He also looked more nervous and on his guard. He had screwed up big time and he knew he wouldn't make it out of this one.

"You were the one supposed to make sure Seto was safe. So, how is it that he is now in a hospital, fighting for his life?" Mokuba said, rather harshly, he couldn't really find it in himself to be nice to the person who failed in protecting his brother.

Mackenzie was slightly smaller and less well built than Anderson but he was still big enough to intimidate most people and discourage them from picking up a fight. The bodyguard sighed. "She wasn't there when I first walked out, it wasn't crowded but there were a few other people around so I was standing close enough to Mr. Kaiba, in case something happened. She came around the corner, She didn't look more suspicious or dangerous than anyone else out on the street, so I didn't watch her more than all the other people on the street. She was an ordinary woman, well dressed and everything, she didn't stand out, I had no reason to suspect her of anything until she pulled out that gun from her purse."

"When she pulled out her gun, she was still to far for me to stop her before she had the time to shoot so I tried to pull Mr. Kaiba out of harms way but he dodged me and put himself in front of Miss Mazaki. After that I jumped on the woman and stopped her."

"What was your position right before the attack?" Roland asked, frowning lightly.

"Next to Mr. Kaiba, more toward the street in case something came from the other side."

"And Miss Mazaki's?"

The guard thought about it for a second. "I think she was on Mr. Kaiba's other side."

"So you weren't protecting Anzu as well?" Mokuba asked.

The guard frowned. "My priority is to protect Mr. Kaiba. I had no reasons to expect someone might attack her. He went out with dozens of other woman in the last two years, none was ever attacked. I tried taking him to safety but he didn't let me. He wouldn't have risked his life for any of the other women he went out with, I had no reason to think he would for her."

"You should have been ready to expect anything." Mokuba said before he sighed. "Regardless. You don't have the right to make a mistake when you are a bodyguard. You failed in protecting Seto. You're fired."

The young bodyguard sighed as he stood up, he nodded once to Mokuba and Roland then left.

"You think they are saying the truth?" Roland asked, looking down at Mokuba.

The teenager shrugged. "I have no reason to doubt them, if he hadn't been next to them, he wouldn't have been able to stop her so quickly. I'll make sure with the staff of the restaurant tomorrow. But we still don't know how Helena Rosenberg got there. I don't think it would be that hard to obtain an illegal weapon, but how could have known where to find Seto? I think Helena is a scapegoat, someone else used her." Mokuba sighed. "Everything proves that she was aiming at Anzu, so, either someone wanted to take Anzu out or was crazy enough to bet on Seto trying to save her to kill him and send everyone on the wrong trail."

Mokuba smiled, though it was more of less bitter. "Although the second option looks all epic and would be really fun to look into, the easiest solution is usually the good one."

Roland nodded. "So, one crazy fan girl uses another crazy fan girl to take out the competition."

Mokuba frowned. "Which means that until we find crazy fan girl number two, Anzu is in danger." Mokuba stood up from the chair and grabbed his coat. "Let's go have a little chat with Helena Rosenberg."

* * *

Calling Helena a crazy fan girl was an understatement, the young woman was actually a schizophrenic and had been transferred from the police department directly to a mental institute.

"I hope you can understand that we can't allow you to see Miss Rosenberg right now." The doctor said, sitting down in front of Mokuba.

Mokuba sighed. "She attacked my brother's friend." He explained. "I need to know why."

The doctor smiled sympathetically. "I am sorry about your brother, but you shouldn't worry about her anymore. She's not getting out of here for a while."

Mokuba frowned. "I think someone used her."

The doctor frowned. "Even if I were to let you talk to her, you wouldn't get anything really useful out of her, according to her medical records she has hallucinations and hears voices, she is completely detached from reality and cannot make the difference between what is real and what she imagined." He explained. "I assure you that we have already tried to make her say what happened. All she kept saying is that an angel told her a witch was trying to steal your brother and that she had to stop her. She truly believes she is involved with your brother."

"So that angel..."

The doctor shrugged. "Could have been someone telling her to kill your brother's friend, or it is possible that she heard some girls gossip about your brother or she read it in a magazine or just saw them together then she had hallucination, started hearing voices and followed your brother around. There is no way to tell."

The doctor excused himself and left, leaving Mokuba and Roland alone in the small white visiting room. "Any report of Seto being tailed?" Mokuba asked as he stood up and stretched, the plane trip, all the stress and this goose hunt was starting to wear him down.

Roland shook his head. "Although it is possible she heard about Mr. Kaiba being with Anzu...or with any other woman, there is no report or anyone following him. Miss Rosenberg doesn't live nor work anywhere near Kaiba Corp or where Mrs. Mazaki lives. She has not been seen by security in a while and the restaurant where the attack occurred is quite far away from her apartment. Since she doesn't have a car, it is unlikely that her presence was a mere coincidence."

Mokuba nodded. "Alright, so we are looking for someone who is obsessed with Seto, knew he was seeing Anzu, where he would be and knew Helena Rosenberg... "

Roland frowned. "Anyone who was in the restaurant, saw them enter the restaurant, work at the restaurant....or anyone those people could have called to gossip about seeing Mr. Kaiba."

"They-" Mokuba was interrupted by Roland's cell phone.

The bodyguard frowned slightly when he saw the caller ID and answered. The call was short, Roland didn't really say anything before he hung up and sighed. "Your brother is out of the operation room."

* * *

Mokuba hurried down the hospital halls toward the intensive care unit, where they took his brother. Intensive care was not really that reassuring, but at least that meant his brother had made it through the worst...at least he hoped so. When he reached the intensive care, a doctor was waiting for him at the door, along with two bodyguards, standing guard outside the ICU since they couldn't get inside. "How is he?" Mokuba asked, panting slightly.

The doctor didn't smile, but didn't look down either. "He's stable for now, we did everything we could but it's too early to say."

"Can I see him?"

The doctor nodded, Mokuba followed him into the ICU and to Seto's room, which was one of the only individual rooms. Kaiba was laying down on a small hospital bed, hooked to a respirator and a few other machines Mokuba could only guess what where for. His skin was pale, and he looked so weak, seeing his brother look so weak and vulnerable reminded Mokuba of when their step-father was still alive. He didn't like it. He sat down next to his brother and held his hand.

"One of the bullet got through his left lung just over his heart, the second hit a rib, shattered it and ended up in the right lung, the broken rib also punctured his right lung, the third one went through the diaphragm and the liver before hitting a rib and stopping there." The doctor explained. "Fortunately the gun was a small caliber, so the wounds where small and clean. We managed to get the bullets out, stop the hemorrhage and repair as best as we could. However, the next few hours are going to be crucial. Your brother lost a lot of blood, added to the injury to both lung, which greatly reduced his respiratory capacity. Both of those made him go into shock. Which is a severe state where the body is not properly oxygenated."

Mokuba looked up at the doctor as he continued. "We managed to stabilize him, but as I'm sure you know, prolonged hypoxia can cause brain damage. And when the oxygenation is restored, it can cause hypoxia/reperfusion injury. When cells lack oxygen, they produce inflammatory molecules and toxins, which are then spread through the body when the blood flow is restored and can damage all the organs."

"How bad is it?"

The doctor shrugged. "We have no way of knowing how severe the hypoxia was. But other than that, there is also the high risk of infection. His lung have been damaged, which makes it easier for infection to enter the body. We are giving him antibiotics and doing everything we can, but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. For now we are keeping him unconscious and on the respirator and we wait to see what happens, it's all we can do now." The doctor then left the room, silently closing the door behind him.

Mokuba gently raised his hand and stroked his brother's hair, wondering if Kaiba had felt as miserable as he felt right now when he had the car accident. "Come one Seto, you can't go like that. I can't lose you....and Anzu will never forgive herself if you die..."

* * *

I'm sure you all wanted me to continue. Well, it's getting late and I have school tomorrow, so I'm stopping here.

Next chapter you'll have...probably lots of Seto, I think, how cool is that, Seto in a hospital bed, every fan girls fantasy


	22. The morning after

Chapter 22: The morning after

Mokuba stayed with his brother for a while, he wasn't sure how long, maybe minutes, maybe hours, hoping, even if he knew it wouldn't happen, that he would wake up. It was one thing to know that his brother had been hurt, it was another thing to see it. It made it all more real, and the gravity of the situation scared him. He could lose his brother, he'd be all alone, sure he knew a lot more about the adult world than most people and had learned how to take care of himself....but he always had his brother supporting him and ready to catch him if he fell. Right now Seto wouldn't be able to do anything, he was on his own...possibly forever, and that scared him.

"...Anzu is safe." he said after a while, even though he doubted his brother could hear him and he felt a little stupid talking to an unconscious person, he just had to say it. "You don't have to worry, I'll take care of everything...so you can just rest until you get better." Mokuba held his brother's hand, still childishly hoping for him to wake up, but he didn't... Mokuba stood up and kissed his brother on the forehead before leaving the ICU.

Roland was patiently waiting for him outside, he stood up when he came out and followed him. "How is Anzu?" The younger Kaiba asked as he walked....though he had no idea where he wanted to go.

"Asleep. Do you want to wake her up to tell her Mr. Kaiba is out of the operation room?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Let her sleep, she needs it." They walked in silence for a while, until Mokuba spoke again. "Whoever planned the attack was after her."

"It appear so." Roland answered.

"I want you to watch her until we find out who is behind it."

Roland frowned. "What about you?" He had been appointed as Mokuba's bodyguard for years and he wasn't really found of the idea of letting someone else watch over him.

"I'll be fine, Seto was ready to give his life for Anzu. I don't want it to be for nothing."

"He wouldn't want to lose you either."

Mokuba smiled, he could tell that Roland was worried for him. "Until Seto wakes up, I'm the one in charge here and I think Anzu is the one in the most danger, so I want you to watch over her. That's an order."

Roland sighed, though he was slightly amused by Mokuba's sudden use of authority, the youngest Kaiba barely ever gave order...no one ever could resist him anything. "All right. But if I may give you one last advice..."

"Sure." Mokuba said.

"Get some rest." Roland said, Mokuba tried to protest but his bodyguard beat him to it. "I know you are worried and restless but there is nothing more you can do for now. But you barely slept in the last thirty-six hours, you are exhausted."

Mokuba knew it was true, he had slept only a few hours on the plane since he had expected to arrive at night. He hadn't expected all this to happen. But he felt that he couldn't sleep, not while his brother was still fighting for is life...

"I promise I'll call you if anything happen." Roland said, putting his hand on Mokuba's shoulder.

Mokuba sighed and nodded. He left Roland and walked back to the entrance of the hospital where two other bodyguard and a limo where already waiting for him. He smiled, knowing Roland had arranged for those. It felt weird, not feeling the familiar presence of his bodyguard around, he felt vulnerable. Mokuba asked the driver to bring in to Kaiba Corp. Kaiba had an actual mansion on the outskirt of New-York, but he barely ever went there. Mokuba knew that most of the time, his brother stayed over at the apartment he had on the top floor of Kaiba Corp. Kaiba Corp. was closer so he decided to go there, in case something happened.

Mokuba dismissed the bodyguard as he stepped inside the building, there were security guard keeping watch so he didn't need any bodyguard in here...and he wanted to be alone. He took the elevator all the way up to the top floor, laying against the wall, trying not to think about his brother. Once he got there, he went straight to his brother office and trough the door, on the side, leading to the large apartment his brother barely lived in.

Someone had brought his things in the room for him, silently, grateful for whoever did it, Mokuba quickly changed into a pair of pyjama pants and collapsed on his bed. He was tired, completely exhausted, he tried falling asleep but he couldn't stop thinking about everything that happened. He couldn't shake away the fear of waking up to find his brother had died...

* * *

When Mokuba woke up the next morning, it was already eight-thirty. The night hadn't been exactly what you could call refreshing. He had nightmares, most of which included his brother dying. He got out of bed and started dressing up, there was no use in staying in bed, he wouldn't be able to get more sleep. He then forced himself to eat something before leaving, he wasn't really hungry, but he knew he couldn't keep going without any food.

He thought about what he should do now. He was determined to find out whoever was behind this, but he had other things he had to take care of. He hadn't come here just for the fun of it, he had a little plan in his mind when he came here, but he still had a few things to take care of to make it all work if....no, when his brother would get better. But those could wait for a few days. More importantly, his brother wouldn't be able to take care of his company for quite a while. Mokuba was the vice president...even though he never actually had anything to do, it meant that he was the one in charge until Seto got better.

The image of Kaiba Corp. was extremely important, if people didn't trust it, no one would want to buy the actions and the company would quickly go to bankruptcy. Seto was Kaiba Corp, people trusted him with their money to make profits out of it and give them back part of those profits. That was how it worked. And with Seto now in the hospital, with a high probability of dying, shareholders would become worried about their investment, try to take their money back. He had to prevent this from happening.

With his mind set, Mokuba grabbed his coat and walked out of the apartment and outside of the office. Kaiba's secretary looked up at him as he stepped out of his brother's office, she smiled politely at her but Mokuba knew it was forced, she didn't like him much....he had always made it extremely clear to her that he didn't like her, he hated her on a principle, he had never approved of the way his brother got involved with different woman out of convenience for business or need. He gave the same treatment to any woman his brother ever got 'involved' with. Ok, so maybe it was childish and it's not like his brother wasn't at all responsible or that Mokuba had anything to say in the matter. But he made it clear he didn't like it by being as disrespectful and harsh with any of those woman and his brother whenever he was with them. Alright, so he might have been way harsher with the poor secretary than with any other woman, she had been a convenient target for his anger whenever he stormed out of Kaiba's office after an argument....and that happened a lot in the past years.

Mokuba scoffed. "You still work here? That's really pathetic, get a life." The secretary frowned and turned her attention back to her work, she knew she couldn't insult him, right now he could fire her if he wanted...which Mokuba found an interesting idea. What? His brother was in a hospital, he was stressed, worried and barely slept at all in the last 48 hours, he wasn't in the greatest of moods, he was in need of something to express all his anger and frustration and she was right there. Easy target. "Reschedule all the appointments of this morning, I'll be back at noon." He said, walking toward the elevator.

* * *

Mokuba went to see Anzu first, but when he got to her room, it was empty. Roland wasn't there either. Mokuba frowned, but he quickly figured where she most likely went so he walked out of the room and went to the ICU. Anzu had probably asked about his brother as soon as he woke up, she would want to see him. When he reached the ICU, he saw Roland waiting outside. Mokuba sat down on a chair next to him.

"How is he?"

"Still alive." Roland answered.

"And Anzu?"

Roland smiled a little. "She yelled at me for not waking her up when Mr. Kaiba was brought out of operation room then demanded that I bring her here."

Mokuba smiled too. "I guess she is feeling better."

Roland's smile vanished. "How about you?"

Mokuba shrugged. "I haven't been able to sleep much."

"What do we do now?"

Mokuba sighed. "For the moment you take care of Anzu and I take care of Kaiba Corp, until Seto gets better. As well as figure out who did this in our free times."

"Any new lead?" The bodyguard asked.

The teen shook his head. "More like too many leads. There's no way we can check out all the call made from every client or employee of the restaurant and know what those call where about. It might even be Anzu who told one of her friend at school that she was going out with Seto, or someone overheard her say it. It could be anything." Mokuba sighed as he stood up and walked inside the ICU, he wanted to see his brother.

Anzu was there, sitting next to the bed, looking at Kaiba. She was wearing ordinary clothes, and not those horrible hospital gown. She looked like she was far away in thoughts as Mokuba approached. "Hi...How are you feeling?"

Anzu looked up at him and smiled sadly. "Better. They are letting me go back home. Matt brought me clothes before going to work this morning. He was really worried about me." She looked back down at Kaiba. "I've been thinking..."

"About what?" Mokuba sat down on another chair, on the other side of Kaiba's bed.

Anzu shrugged. "About everything. I just don't know what to make out of anything anymore. Kaiba...could die....why did he do that?"

"He cares about you." Mokuba answered.

"I'm not so sure about that." Anzu said. "Maybe he would have done it for any other girl he happened to be standing next to when a crazy woman tried to kill her. I'm just....so confused about everything he does, everything he says. I never know what he's thinking....Even after all this time, I still don't know anything about him, he doesn't really tell me anything. I wonder what he thinks about me. Sometimes he does these stuffs....making me feel like he cares about me....then he's totally indifferent like I'm not important to him or he act as if I'm a bother he can't get rid of."

Mokuba chuckled lightly. "If you are confused, just try to imagine how lost he is.... No one ever cared for him, he's not used to it, he's still unsure about all of this, give him some time, he'll open up."

Anzu shrugged. "I guess it doesn't even matter. He said...that he was going back to Japan...because he doesn't have any reason to stay here." Anzu looked down at her hands, the pain those words had caused her coming back.

"A convenient excuse to avoid you. Don't you think?" Mokuba asked, smiling a little. "He cares about you, I think he just realized it and it scared him. It's not easy for him to open up again after all those years and everything he went through. He's afraid of you turning against him like everyone else."

"I would never do that."

Mokuba smiled. "I know. And I think Seto wants to believe it too, but it doesn't mean it's easy for him. Don't worry about that, he'll trust you eventually, and I'm not letting him run away that easily." He added, winking.

Anzu smiled softly as she took Kaiba's limp hand into hers, praying with all her heart for him to make it through. They stayed like that together, in a comfortable silence.

* * *

....Not much Kaiba actually, oh well, better luck next time....but probably not, I'm not too sure. Sorry I'm a little late. So, this week is easter break....I'm not sure where I'll be, so let's say I should update around next Wednesday.


	23. Awakening

For some reason I've received reviews of people begging me to not stop writing. I'm not really sure what gave you this idea as it's not the first time I'm late in updating. This last month was just hell, with the finals and all, I tried to get the new chapter out, but I hit a dead end in my new chapter so I had to start over from scrap...So by that then I didn't have time to put on it so I decided to just put it on hold until I have some free time. Exam stress is not good when you are trying to write.

Chapter twenty three: Awakening

Too soon, Mokuba had to leave, he had many things he wanted to do before going back to Kaiba Corp. A few reporters were still waiting at the door but Mokuba ignored them and went straight for the limo waiting for him, he gave directions to the driver and settled down. He looked at the empty seat in front of him, his new bodyguard was sitting at the front, only Roland actually ever sat with him. Not having the bodyguard with him was unnerving, it made him feel vulnerable and lonely, but he thought Anzu needed the protection more than him...and Roland would treat her better than any other bodyguard.

The limo stopped in front of the restaurant, Mokuba told the driver to wait for him and walked inside. The restaurant wasn't open yet, so the place was empty except for the manager, a small, stylish woman in her mid thirty. She smiled when she saw Mokuba enter the restaurant. "Mr. Kaiba. I've been waiting for you." She walked up to him and held out her hand.

Mokuba smiled slightly as he took it. "Mrs. Dufresne. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate that we go straight to business, I'm a little short on time."

"Of course." She led Mokuba through the dinning room, through the kitchen and into a small office, she went around the desk, opened a drawer and took out a little folder. "I don't know if you'll be able to find anything, but if you find out one of my employee is the leak, please tell me. I have a strict policy against giving away the name of our costumers.

Mokuba nodded and thanked her before making his way back outside and into the limo. Once he was alone in the limo, he opened the folder and started scanning through it. The folder contained all the phone records since the moment Kaiba made his reservation, as well as the information about all the employees and their deposition about what happened. Mokuba sighed, this was going to be a pain to look at...and he probably wouldn't really find anything.

Mokuba had the driver stop at some fast food restaurant on the way back to Kaiba Corp. He wasn't really any more hungry than he was this morning, but if he was going to work at Kaiba Corp. until god knows what time, he was going to need the energy. When they arrived that, Mokuba handed the folder over to the driver, instructing him to bring it to Roland. Since he was the head of security, Mokuba thought he'd be better than him to check out the files, the guy had a lot of contacts.

Once that was taken care of, the teen made his way to the elevator to get back to his brother's office. While waiting on the elevator, he tried to empty his mind of everything, right now he couldn't afford to think about his brother, or finding out who was behind all this. He had to concentrate on keeping his brother's company on the top, he had to show everyone that he wasn't some spoiled teenager and that he was capable of taking care of everything.

* * *

Anzu sighed as she looked out the window and then back down at Kaiba. It was dark outside, when Matt had came this morning to bring her clothes, he told her Rylan was covering for her at the job so she could rest. But she couldn't rest, so she spent the whole day in the ICU, holding Kaiba's hand, waiting for him to wake up. Doctors came every once in a while to check on him, but each time they kept saying it was too soon to say anything. Roland wasn't there either, she figured he was probably standing guard outside the ICU and Mokuba had yet to come back like he said he would.

She was exhausted, but she didn't want to leave. Going back to a normal life, as if Kaiba wasn't in danger of dying, felt wrong, even if she knew there was nothing she could do to help him. She heard the door being open and the sound of footstep approaching her, she looked up and saw Roland standing at the foot of the bed. "It's getting late." Anzu shrugged and turned her attention back to Kaiba. The bodyguard sighed. "I know you're worried, but you need to eat, rest and take care of yourself."

Anzu sighed. She knew he was right, she always knew she would have to leave eventually. She hadn't been home since the previous day and she couldn't spend the entire night here...beside she had to work tomorrow, she couldn't ask Rylan to cover for her forever. "Alright..." She said, standing up.

She followed him all the way outside, there was a limo waiting in front of the hospital, Roland opened the door for her and followed her inside. "I'm sorry I'm such a bother." She said after a few minutes of silence, smiling apologetically at him. "I know you have more important things to do than babysit me."

"You are an important person to Seto. It makes keeping you safe a priority." The bodyguard answered.

Anzu smiled a little. "I'm sure you'd rather be protecting them."

"If something happened to you, it would hurt Seto." Roland answered. "He was ready to risk his life for you, I don't need any more reason than that."

"I wonder, why do you came so much about his well being?" Anzu asked. "You care more than a bodyguard should. How so?"

Roland smiled slightly. "I've been in charge of him since he was ten years old, he was a really sweet kid back then...maybe a little too mature and serious for his age, but really nice. Watching over a child is different than watching over an adult...you see them laugh, cry, grow up and mature."

Anzu frowned. "But....you said before that Seto only trusted you on a professional basis......if you've been there since he was a kid, shouldn't he trust you at some point?"

Roland frowned and looked out the window of the limo. "I was there......it doesn't mean I've been there for him." Roland answered, as he turned to look at her. "I've started working for Gozaburo about at the same time he adopted Seto and Mokuba. I was...twenty three, freshly out of school with a pregnant girlfriend. I needed money but I wasn't able to get a job...I ended up working as a bodyguard for Gozaburo, the pay was excellent, good working condition. Back then I didn't know what kind of a man he was...I didn't know what it meant to work for him."

"I was assigned at watching over Seto." Roland continued. "...but the only thing he needed protection from was his step-father, I don't need to tell you the man was a abusive bastard."

Anzu frowned. "I figured." Even though no one ever told the exact nature of what Gozaburo did to Kaiba, Anzu was pretty sure it was never anything good...

Roland looked down. "He came to me for help once. I knew what was going on, what he was going through....I'd even seen with my own eyes but.....I didn't help him. I was young, I had a family and I was afraid of what Gozaburo could do to me or to them, by then I had learned just how dangerous he was. I turned him down. I don't know if it would have made any difference if I tried getting him out of there...Gozaburo was more than capable of making me and everyone I cared about disappear. But it doesn't make my choice right. I turned my back on him, I'm the last person he ever opened to....I am partly responsible of what he became."

Anzu glared down at her hands, folded on her knees. She wasn't one prone to hate...but she had trouble not hating the previous CEO. "I think you are important to him." She said. "I don't think he'd be indifferent if you were to leave him. He kept you after Gozaburo died....he even assigned you to protecting his brother. I'm sure....I'm sure that he understands your reasons."

Roland smiled. "You are a good person...I sincerely hope that you'll be able to help him but....it won't be easy...you might get hurt."

Anzu smiled. "Getting hurt is part of human relationship, even best friends hurt one another once in a while. Eventually, he'll do something that will hurt me....and I'll do something that will hurt him.....it's inevitable. But...having people around you, who cares about you, to share your joys and pains with...it is worth being hurt once it a while. I just hope I can make him see that and that...when I'll hurt him, he'll forgive me."

* * *

When Mokuba entered the ICU, it was already passed midnight, he was the only visitor at the time. Roland had not been standing guard at the door and Anzu wasn't with his brother, which told him the bodyguard probably managed to convince her to go home. It was a good thing, it wouldn't be healthy for her to stay here all days worrying about Seto....as if he was in any position to talk. He sat down next to his still unconscious brother and took his hand.

He stayed there for a while, even though he had little hopes of his brother waking up any time soon... It just made him feel better, he wasn't used to be in charge like that, being next to his brother allowed to relax a little. He didn't really have a good day at Kaiba Corp, people didn't trust him nearly as much as they trusted his brother, he had trouble convincing them that he knew what he was doing... maybe he should have spent a little more time in Kaiba Corp. "How do you manage to do all that anyway?" He asked out of frustration to his still unconscious brother.

The teen sighed, taking his brother's hand into both of his, silently praying that he would make it through this. It hurt him so much not to be able to do anything more. He stayed there, he knew it wouldn't please Roland, but he didn't want to leave, didn't want to go back to the empty apartment that would only remind him of what happened. He stayed and just waited, but just as he was about to fall asleep, he felt something move. He sat up straight on the chair and looked down at his brother. "Seto?" He called softly as he gently pressed on his brother's hand and waited.

Mokuba smiled sadly when nothing happened, deciding that he had imagined it, until he felt Kaiba's hand twitch lightly in his. Surprised, Mokuba sat up and got closer. "Seto? Can you hear me?" He called out, still holding his brother's hand and raising the other to stroke the side of his face.

* * *

_There had always been so much darkness in his mind, thoughts born from the years of pain and abuse he suffered, torturing him every moments of his life. But for the first time in years, his mind was silent, he was free from all the pain, all the worries, the nightmare, the memory, all those didn't matter anymore. Being with her made everything different, he couldn't explain why or how, but when he was with her, he could be in peace, he was feeling good, he had the desire to live for the first time in years._

_He smiled lightly as he looked down at her, she looked up at him with her shinning blue eyes and smiled back as he pulled her even closer to him. He could stay like that for hours, getting lost in her eyes, holding her against him. Some part of his mind wondered what he had ever done to deserve her but that didn't really matter. Whether he deserved her or not, she was there and he never wanted to let her go._

"_How cute, you really think it's going to last?"_

_Startled, Kaiba looked up in front of him, his eyes widening as soon as they landed on the man, his hold instinctively tightened._

_His step-father frowned at him. "You think you can trust her? That she actually cares about you? Silly boy, I thought I taught you better than this." The older man raised a gun and pointed it toward Anzu but Kaiba didn't have the time to do anything before Gozaburo pressed the trigger. _

_Anzu's hold on him tightened on him as she weakly cried out in pain, then her hold weakened and her legs gave out. Kaiba lowered her to the ground, dropping on his knees, still holding her in his arms. Panic was quickly taking over his mind as she coughed up blood. "Anzu!" he called her desperately, he couldn't let her die...he couldn't lose her_

"_Look at you. Look at how weak and pathetic she made you." Kaiba looked up at his step-father, who smirked down at him. "You should thank me. She was going to betray you. " Gozaburo raised his gun toward her again. "Better get rid of her now, don't you agree?" He said as he pulled the trigger. Kaiba tried to put himself between them, but when he tried to move he suddenly felt pain so intense it completely paralyzed him. He tried to catch his breath, but each time he only choked and it caused him more pain. He tried to fight it, he had to, he had to protect Anzu from him..._

"Seto, calm down!" Suddenly, his surrounding vanished, but the pain was still there, not any less intense. He could feel someone gently stroking the side of his face in a familiar manner. Confused, he tried to get up despite the pain but Mokuba pushed him back down. "Shhh, it's ok, it's me, everything is fine." Kaiba could vaguely see someone standing over close to him, he held up his hand and reached out to him, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt in a weak grip.

Mokuba couldn't believe it, he hadn't been expecting his brother to wake up so suddenly and in such a state of panic...though he shouldn't have been so surprised, the last thing he remembered was probably a crazy woman holding a gun at Anzu...He stayed there, stroking the side of his brother's face, gently talking to calm him down. That seemed to do the trick as Kaiba's eyes focused on him. Mokuba smiled down at him. "It's ok...The doctor should be there any minute. You're in the hospital."

Kaiba frowned as he let his eyes wander around the room. Everything was more or less blurry, he was in pain...and whatever was Mokuba doing there? He was supposed to be in Japan. He closed his eyes and tried to put his thoughts together...he was just in so much pain and so uncomfortable and it felt like there was a tick mist clouding his thoughts. He wasn't sure what happened, what was true.....all he could really remember was the sound of a gunshot and....Anzu.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered, only one thought remained in his mind: someone was trying to hurt Anzu. Once more he tried to get up, all his thoughts concentrated on her, he had to protect her. But it hurt him to much and he started choking again, and with Mokuba gently holding him down he wasn't able to do anything. "Seto, stop. You're going to hurt yourself."

Still panicked, Kaiba grabbed his little brother's arm, though his grip was weak, he had to make him understand...he tried to talk, but he wasn't able to, it only made him choke more.

Mokuba frowned. "Shhh, it's ok, you have to calm down." But that didn't calm his brother at all. Suddenly, it occurred to Mokuba what could possibly put his brother is such a state. "Anzu is safe." He called out, hoping it would calm Kaiba down before he seriously hurt himself even more. "She's ok." He said as he once again started stroking his brother's face. "Roland took her home, don't worry, he's watching over her."

Kaiba tiredly looked up at his brother, confused about what was going on and what to believe. But his brother only smiled down reassuringly at him. "I promise she's safe. You protected her." Kaiba did everything he could to stay concentrated on his brother, trying to see any trace of lies in his little brother's eyes or face, but he couldn't find any hint that his brother was hiding something... Relief suddenly washed over him, so did the pain and exhaustion he caused himself by moving so much, tired, he let go of Mokuba's arm and closed his eyes, letting his brother's soothing words lull him back into oblivion.

* * *

Ok......I could go on, but the more I go on, the more you'll have to wait...and I think you have all been patient enough. So, Seto woke up, even if only for a while, that's still something.

I apologize again for making you wait this long, as I said before the end of term was horrible, so I only started this chapter this week because the other one I did sucked big time, then I had job training and I had my 4 wisdom teeth pulled out Friday morning....so I haven't even ate a real meal since then, it hurts when I eat and the feeling of sutures in my mouth isn't a nice thing.

Next chapter: Oh expect Seto to wake up for good and see his precious Anzu and maybe you'll finally know who was behind the attack.

Also, someone asked me how old Kaiba and Anzu where, god you made me have to crawl out of my comfy bed, into the cold night to find my notes about the story to answer your question lolll. So, Anzu is indeed twenty, Kaiba was twenty too at the beginning of the story but he's now twenty one (Mokuba did mention his brother's birthday at one point in the story.) and Mokuba is 16 ( I can't remember is you asked about him...but I'm too lazy to check it out).

With that done, I am dozing myself with a nice dose of painkillers, antibiotics and going to bed.

Please review, I promise that I'll be able to update more now that school is over.


	24. Uncertain feelings

Ok...this is my fourth try at this chapter...and It's really starting to piss me off. The first two sucked, the third try sounded promising but for some reason I can't find it anymore...so I'm stuck starting again...yay...

Someone asked me why I'm only using Anzu's Japansese name. Well...Except for Anzu I prefer the English names. Jounouchi is too damn long, my mom drives a Honda and why is there 2 u in Yuugi? And that's about as far as my knowledge of the Japanese names goes lolll.

Chapter 24: Uncertain feelings

Going back home after what happened had been hard for Anzu, Kay and Matt were worried about her and were doing everything they could to make sure she was alright. She was glad for their presence...but all they were really doing was remind her of the accident. So, since she was stuck back at her apartment and she doubted Roland would let her out before she had a real night of sleep, she decided she might as well sleep….or more like try to sleep. She spent hours turning and tossing around in her bed, way too many things were going on and she had to much on her mind to even think about sleeping.

Tomorrow she had to work and it scared the hell out of her, despite Mokuba's best effort, he wasn't able to keep her name out of the incident. Now the entire world knew that Kaiba was shot down while they where on some kind of date. It hadn't been long before reporters tried to talk to her. Lucky for her, the bodyguards took care of anyone who tried to get anywhere near her so far. But somehow they managed to find her cell phone number so she had to turn it off because they wouldn't stop calling. It was safe to assume that by now they knew where she lived, where she went to school and even where she worked.

But the reporters weren't the only people she was trying to avoid. She had used the cell phone Mokuba lend her to call her parents and let them know she was alright, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to call her friends back in Japan, even though she knew they must be worried sick about her. But Aside from Yugi, whom she called after Kaiba blackmailed Matt and knew Kaiba was the one who brought her over last Christmas, she hadn't told her friends of her weird somewhat of a friendship with Kaiba and right now, she didn't want to face their questions about it.

She could imagine them all too clearly, Yugi being overly worried about her and Kaiba...only making her worry more about him in the process. Joey and Tristan accusing Kaiba of nearly killing her and swearing to kill him if he ever made it out alive for putting her in danger and for getting near 'their' Anzu. Then they would wonder about why she was with him in the first place...then they would start suspecting something and they would be hurt when they learned that she hadn't told them what was going on and after that there would be arguments about how Kaiba wasn't a person she should hang around with...She didn't want to worry about that right now...

What could she possibly tell them anyway? She wasn't even sure what to think herself, despite Kaiba saying otherwise...it definitely looked like a date, even to her. For gods sake they even danced together. Anzu blushed slightly and a shiver ran up her spine as she thought about the feeling of Kaiba's body against hers as they danced. She shook her head and turned around the her bed, now was not the time to think about such things. She couldn't let herself think about Kaiba in such a way, she couldn't feel that way, nothing good would come out of it.

* * *

Anzu woke up the next morning at around 6, she had not slept very well during the night but she didn't think she would be able to sleep more if she stayed in bed anyway. Beside, it let her some time to go and see Kaiba before she had to go to work. She took a quick shower and prepared herself as fast as she could. By the time she was ready it was six thirty. That left her with one hour before she had to be at the café. It was enough time for her to make a quick trip to the hospital on the way.

When she opened the door of her apartment, Roland was already waiting for her. During the last two day she had started to expect seeing the man wherever she went...but it was still bothering her. "Please tell me you didn't spend the night standing guard in front of the door." During the last two days, she also started to wonder if, perhaps, Roland was some kind of robot created by Kaiba. Seriously, she couldn't remember seeing him eating anything and he was always there.

Roland's only answer was a slight, mysterious smile. "I thought you would like to know that Mr. Kaiba woke up during the night."

"What? He woke up?" She asked, her eyes widening with disbelief and hope. "Is he ok?"

Roland shrugged. "It's still too early to tell. He only stayed awake for a minute."

"I don't care, take me to the hospital." She ordered as she closed the door of her apartment and started walking toward the stairs of the bloc to get out, she didn't bother to make sure Roland was following her, she knew he would.

* * *

When Anzu entered Kaiba's room, she found Mokuba sitting on the chair next to his brother, his head down on the bed, asleep. She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. "Mokuba?"

The teen slowly woke up, he sat up straight and rubbed his eyes before looking up at Anzu. "What time is it?" He said, sleepily, looking around him.

"A little past seven." She frowned. "Did you spend the night here?"

Mokuba sheepishly smiled. "I guess I fell asleep." He looked back down at Kaiba and sighed. "I just wasn't able to leave him alone...after he woke up." He explained, remembering the state his brother was in.

Anzu followed Mokuba's gaze to his older brother. Kaiba was still sleeping or unconscious, she wasn't really sure at that point, but they had taken him off the respirator. Somehow, seeing him breathing on his own was extremely reassuring. "How was he?"

Mokuba shrugged. "In pain. He asked for you...he was worried."

Anzu smiled slightly at the thought, it was kinda nice to hear that he cared, but she didn't dare to put much thoughts into it.

"Anzu? What is he to you?" The teenager asked, looking up at her. The way his brother reacted the night before, added to all the events that led him in the hospital, told Mokuba that Anzu was much more important to his brother than he actually suspected, probably more so than the CEO himself knew. Which meant that he could get that much more hurt, something Mokuba wanted to avoid no matter what.

Anzu blushed slightly and avoided looking directly at Mokuba, instead forcing herself to look down at Kaiba. She'd spend most of her night trying not to think about what she might or might not feel for him, she wasn't sure she wanted to go there with his little brother right now.

Mokuba chuckled softly at her obvious embarrassment as he stood up, he couldn't have asked for a clearer answer. "I have to go, I'm already kinda late." The teen said and walked toward the door. "I'll see you later."

"Don't over do it." Anzu warned him before he made it out the door, still not looking at him. "Seto wouldn't be happy to see you overworking yourself."

Mokuba smiled. "If anything, maybe it would made him realize exactly how much he's overworking himself." His smile then turned into a frown. "Beside, I can't stand not doing anything. At the very least it makes me feel helpful."

With that said, he walked outside the ICU, where Roland was waiting. The bodyguard frowned disapprovingly at him. Though the older man didn't say anything, Mokuba knew he wasn't pleased to see he had spend the night at the hospital. "How are things on your end?" The teenager asked, sitting down on a chair in the hallway.

Roland shrugged. "Still looking through the files the manager of the restaurant gave us, but so far we haven't found anyone who had any link with the shooter. Helena received a phone call from a phone booth he day of the attack, it might be from whoever is behind it but there's no way to know for sure, and we can't track it down to anyone either. So we are still stuck at square one with no real lead." The bodyguard explained. "How are you?"

Mokuba sighed, he laid back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "Mainly tired and worried. All this is driving me crazy, I'm barely capable of keeping things from crashing down, Seto could still die at any time and we still haven't figured out who is behind it all." Roland probably was going to say something, but Mokuba didn't let him, there wasn't really anything he could say that would really make him feel better. "I have to go. I'm already late enough as it is. If anything happens, let me know." He said as he stood from the chair, before making his way out of the hospital.

* * *

Anzu was left alone in the room with Kaiba, she sat down on the chair Mokuba had occupied moments ago and shyly took Kaiba's hand into her own. She felt uneasy, she wasn't sure she wanted him to wake up right now, she wasn't sure she was ready for it. What was she supposed to say to him? What was she supposed to think of all this? Of course she wouldn't know until he woke up...but it didn't help that she didn't what it was she wanted to hear. She had no idea if she wanted all this to mean something or not.

There was just no way...it made no sense, she barely even knew him, they had nothing in common, there was no way it could ever work, no way he'd ever feel anything for her. She just shou- _couldn't_ be falling for him. "This is so messed up." She sighed, looking down at her laps. Suddenly, she felt the hand she was holding twitch. Surprised, she looked up at his face as he stirred again. "Seto?"

Slowly, weakly, his eyes opened, he blinked a few times until his eyes could focus...on her

* * *

Ok, that is done, so he's awake and they are together. I bet you can't wait for the next chapter, I'll try not to fall into a romantic depression again or something like that...maybe I should read twilight again. Truth is I've been depressed a lot lately and my job is stressing me too. But I'll try to change that and hopefully you won't have to wait another two months for an update...and hopefully a longer chapter.


	25. Face to face

Chapter 25 : Face to face.

Kaiba's thoughts were numb, it felt like his mind was wrapped in a thick fog, he couldn't even form complete thoughts in his head. He felt a dull pain through his entire body, making him uncomfortable. He tried remembering what happened for him to feel like that but everything was a blur. He remembered his brother….he was telling him something…but the teen wasn't supposed to be here…was he? But what had he been telling him? Had it even been real? He had a feeling it was important…really important. He tried to remember…but the answer eluded him.

Suddenly he felt something; it was so faint he could hardly feel it but it was there. He concentrated on it and it grew stronger. It felt…like a touch, someone was there. Then, someone talked, he couldn't make out what that person said, but he knew that voice…he was sure of it. With lots of effort, he opened his eyes and suddenly he was assailed by all the light and noise around him. It took him a few second to process everything, the over lighted white room, a steady beeping noise, the scent of disinfectant.

But he wasn't alone, there was someone standing next to him, he blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision and focus on that person. "Anzu?" He asked, his voice weak, as he recognised the blue eyes dancer.

Anzu smiled, tears started rolling down her cheeks as she let herself fall on the chair next to the bed, still holding his hand. She laughed nervously as she let out a sight of relieve. So many things where going through her mind right now, she wasn't able to keep up with all the emotions flowing through her. "Thanks god." She breathed before looking back up at Kaiba. "Don't you ever scare me like that again." She said as a new set of tears started flowing.

Although he wasn't exactly sure what was going on, Kaiba felt the urge to wipe Anzu's tears away. It felt absolutely wrong to him for her to be crying. However he was so tired and his arms refused to obey his thoughts…. His attention was then dragged to the white bandage on her shoulder…it hadn't been there before. "You're hurt." He said, anger flashing through his eyes at the thought that someone might have hurt her.

Another nervous laugh escaped from her lips as she looked down. "Idiot." She said, though it made her feel funny inside that he seemed to be caring more about her well-being than his. Her eyes softening as she looked back up at him. "It's nothing, don't worry about it…Do you remember what happened?" She asked him.

Kaiba frowned, it was all kind of foggy. The last thing he remembered was going out with her….sort of. Then… "A crazy woman attacked you." He said, suddenly remembering it all, the business meeting, the dinner, the woman, the gun. "Are you alright?" He asked, worriedly as he tried to sit up.

Anzu quickly put both her hands on arms to prevent him from moving. "I'm fine, really." She said to calm him down. "It's only a scratch…You're the one who got hurt." She looked down, feeling guilty for being the reason he got hurt in the first place.

"…I'm fine." He said, though the weak tone of his voice was indicating otherwise

Anzu sighed. "Seto, you got shot three times, you almost died." She said, still unable to look at him.

"It's not your fault… stop beating yourself up."

Anzu looked when Kaiba spoke, but he was looking away. "Hum….Thanks…for saving me." She said.

"Don't mention it…" He answered, still not looking at her.

"I have to go…" Anzu said, reluctantly standing up, she didn't want to leave. But at the same time she could see he was making efforts to stay awake. At the very least, he'd have nothing else to do but rest while he was alone. "I have to go to work." Kaiba finally looked up at her, frowning. It might be a little bit overprotective and paranoid of him, but he wasn't sure he liked the idea of her going to work.

Seeing his worried look, Anzu sighed. "Don't worry about me, Mokuba already has Roland following me everywhere." She said, annoyed. "I'll come back after work, Mokuba should come over later as well." She said before leaving. Once she closed he door of Kaiba's room behind her, she slumped against it and sighed, that had been awkward. But what could you possibly tell a man who almost died to protect you? Without forgetting that she wasn't too sure how exactly she felt right now…everything was just so messed up and nerve wracking.

* * *

Anzu sighed as she looked out the window of the limo taking her to the café. She wasn't sure she was up to working….not after those pictures of her and Kaiba dancing and dinning together made it out to the public. The entire world now know that the great Seto Kaiba gave his life to protect her and everyone wanted her side of the story. They actually had to unplug their phone at the apartment because it wouldn't stop ringing. Certainly working in a public place couldn't be a good idea right now….but she couldn't spend the rest of her life in hiding.

"You don't have to worry for today." Roland said, seeing her uneasiness. "I called for some back up, we'll take care of anyone who bothers you."

"Thanks…I guess."

"You don't have to answer anyone's question if you don't want to, it's up to you to decide what you want people to know, if you do, just tell them the truth." Roland explained.

"Right…" Anzu answered. The truth…how could she stick to it when she wasn't even sure what it was anymore?"

Anzu was relieved to see that there was no crowd in front of the café when they arrived. The prospect of maybe seeing the perhaps girlfriend of Seto Kaiba was not enough to make the paparazzi and news reporter swarm the place in hope that she would come to work. But she had no doubt that they would show up eventually.

Rylan was already there when she arrived. "Hey! It's good to see you're ok." He said smiling. "How's your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Anzu quickly answered, her cheeks growing red.

Rylan smirked, a smirk that clearly meant he didn't believe it. "Right…Anyway, I'm glad you finally came back, geez this place has been crowded those last few days, you're quite famous these days."

Anzu sighed. "Sorry for causing you so much trouble."

Rylan just smiled. "Are you kidding? The boss is actually trilled. Business has not been this good in years. But you better be ready for quite a rush, once people see that you are actually here, it won't be long before half the city comes."

* * *

Mokuba stared at the ICU doors for a moment before walking through them. Roland had called him not long after he left to tell him that Seto had woke up again and had regained most of his senses. The younger teen knew his brother would have a lot of things he'd want to ask him so here he was. Though he was really busy with Kaiba Corp. he wanted to see his brother so he decided to actually take off for lunch and come to the hospital. Beside, he knew that his brother wouldn't relax before he assured him in person that everything was under control…even though it was barely under control.

When he walked him, his brother's eyes were closed, as if he was sleeping, but Kaiba quickly opened them as Mokuba got closer. "Hey…" The brunet said a little weakly.

Mokuba smiled as he sat down on the chair next to him. "Hey….how are you?"

Kaiba tried to shrug, but the pain made him flinch and he gave up the idea of moving. "I've been better."

Mokuba smiling slightly as he took his brother's hand. "You had me worried."

"Sorry." Kaiba said, closing his eyes again.

Mokuba sighed. "Things are no going really well." He said. All his stress and worries from the previous days caught up to him. "Everyone is in a panic. They are all afraid of what will happen if you die, the stock went down, your business associates don't take me seriously…I….I can't do this Seto…" Tears started to fell from his eyes as he spoke, born from the mix of all the stress, frustration, worry and everything else he felt those last few days.

Kaiba sighed softly, but he did not say anything.

Mokuba frowned. "You don't seem to care… "

It took Kaiba a few moments to actually answer, but when he finally did, Mokuba couldn't believe his ears. "I don't..."

"But I need you." Mokuba said, completely lost, he had thought that things would get better after Kaiba woke up. "I can't do this alone."

"I'm tired." Kaiba said, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. Mokuba's frustration dissapeared instantly, he had never seen his brother like that... He could see all the pain, incomfort and exhaustion his brother was feeling in his eyes. His brother had always done everything he could to hide any sign of weakness, even from him. He never admitted being sick, never took a day off to rest, he had always reasure his brother that he was alright whenever he was worried. But right now, he was not even attempting to pretend he was ok, he wasn't trying to leave the hospital, saying he was fine and didn't need care, he didn't ask anything about Kaiba Corp either...he didn't even demand his laptop to do his work. For Kaiba to so openly show what he was feeling...it was really bad.

Mokuba suddenly felt guilty for instinctively trying to hide behind his brother and let him handle things when it was so obvious Kaiba was in no shape to do anything. After his car accident, he had been in so much pain he had surprised himself by wishing more than once he hadn't made it out alive...he wouldn't have been able to sit up to save his own life. How could he expect his brother to do anything?

"Rest a little... I'll come back later." He said as he stood up. He had to go back to Kaiba Corp soon, he still had a lot of things to do.

* * *

Anzu let out a long sight as she turned the sign on the door to 'closed'. The day had been epic. As Dylan predicted, it wasn't long before people recognized her and half the ity came to try and see her: jealous fangirls, reporters wanting news on Kaiba, fangirls, paparazzo, more fangirls, curious people and again more fangirls. Most had not been really generous with tips either…quite the opposite actually. Anzu couldn't remember ever seeing such a concentration of jerks and bitches in all her life.

The hardest part had been keep smiling and be polite to them. Some of them didn't bother to hide their animosity and almost openly insulted her. Luckily for her, Rylan and Roland's back-up had taken care of most of them. But after all that, she was exhausted. It was a little past eight, it wasn't that late yet and from the past few days she guessed that there was a good enough chance that Mokuba was still in Kaiba Corp. So she made a large hot chocolate with a lot of sugar and cream before leaving to go see the younger Kaiba.

When she got there, the building was mostly empty, but the security guard at the front let her in without any trouble. She was still conscious of Roland following her everywhere, but she was slowly starting to get used to it. "Sorry for all the trouble today." She said as they stepped into the elevator to go to Kaiba office.

"You don't need to apologize for making me do my job." Roland said.

Anzu sighed. "I know…..but still."

Roland grinned. "It was an entertaining day. It had been a little while since I had to throw someone out, it was refreshing."

Despite herself, Anzu chuckled a little. "Glad you enjoyed yourself." She said as the door of the elevator opened on the last floor.

As she walked down the short hallway leading to Kaiba's office, the young secretary looked up. She smiled slightly but Anzu could tell it was forced, usually; the little blond woman didn't even bother to hide her hatred. Anzu guessed she was doing an effort because of Roland. Anzu did her best to ignore her as she walked past to desk and to the door of Kaiba's office. She knocked and opened the door after receiving Mokuba's permission to answer.

She closed the door behind her, leaving Roland alone with the witch of a secretary, it's not like anything could happen to her here anyway. Mokuba looked up from his computer and smiled tiredly at her. "Please, tell me this is not coffee." He said, hopefully eying the large steaming cup in Anzu's hand.

Anzu laughed as she walked up to the desk and sat on the chair in front of it. "This is a one hundred percent pure sugar hot chocolate." She said as she handed him the cup.

Mokuba smiled as he took the cup and made himself comfortable in his chair as he tasted the chocolaty goodness before sighing blissfully. "Thanks Anzu. You're a real life saver. The only think they have here is coffee….and it taste bad, no wonder Seto is always in such a bad mood."

Anzu smiled. "I guess your day was as bad as mine."

"Fangirls gave you a hard time huh? They'll get over it eventually." Mokuba said as he took another sip of his hot chocolate.

"I'm going to see Seto." Anzu said. "You want to come?"

Mokuba tensed slightly when Anzu asked him to come with her, it was subtle but Anzu saw it. "I…have some more things to do."

Anzu, however, didn't buy it. "What's wrong?" She asked, frowning.

Mokuba hesitated for a few seconds before speaking. "I went to see Seto earlier today."

"So?" Anzu asked. "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you again."

"That's not it." Mokuba said, looking down.

"Then why don't you want to go?" She asked, concerned.

"Because I can't stand it!" He said softly, looking down at his hands. "Seto's always been invincible… Seeing him like that…so weak..I….it's scares me." He said, eyes closed, trying to keep the tears from falling.

He opened his eyes when he felt someone touch him. Before he could move, Anzu, who was now right next to him, pulled him in a tight hug. Mokuba stayed surprised for a moment, he hadn't even heard her come closer, but quickly he relaxed in her arms and let himself cry. He felt horrible for it, clearly Anzu had just as many worried than him, he felt bad adding more to it like that, but Seto was in no condition to help him and he had no one else.

Anzu wished she could make things better, promise him that Seto would be alright and everything would be fine…but she knew that empty promises wouldn't make him fell better and wouldn't chance anything so she did the only thing she could: giving him a shoulder to cry on. "I know it's hard for you to see your brother like that. It's hard for me too, but I'm sure Seto would be happy to have some company."

"I'm tired of acting strong." Mokuba said as he pulled away, wiping his tears away.

Anzu smiled kindly at him. "You don't have to. Not for me and not for your brother either. I know Seto can't help you much for now, but that doesn't mean he's not there for _you._ Now come on." She said, pulling him to his feet and dragging him toward the door. But before they could reach it, the door opened and Roland stepped inside, a worried look on his face. Both of them froze, knowing before the bodyguard said a word that something was very, very wrong.

* * *

Sorry I'm a little late, I've actually had work at work this week (which is rare, usually I just hang around waiting for the phone to ring) so I haven't been able to finish the chapter and I actually lost the usb key I save my fics on for a few days. But I got everything back, and here is you long awaited next chapter. OMG what could be wrong? And who tried to kill Anzu anyway? Find out on the next chapter….maybe.


	26. Shift of Power

Guess what everyone, I am back from the dead (yet again). I'm really really sorry for this atrociously long wait, I've had serious problems with this chapter and I actually completely re did it five times and I grew discouraged because I couldn't find a right way to do it right and with work and school I was never in the mood to write. So you'll be happy to learn that I quit my job a week ago, which is a huge stress off my shoulder. This session my schedule is somewhat crazy, but at least now I have my evenings so I'll be able to update more. (and this time it's true)

Chapter twenty six: Shift of Power

Mokuba paled slightly when he say Roland entering the office, he had known the man for years and had rarely seen him like that. His first thought was about his brother, had there been some complications...or even worst. "Is Seto alright?" He asked weakly.

Roland blinked and stared at Mokuba for a second before he composed himself. "Ah, yes, sorry." Roland apologized for making the teenager worried, he should have known Mokuba would instantly think something had happen to his brother. "Nothing much has changed concerning your brother's state, which is good." Both Anzu and Mokuba let out a loud sight at the news. "However, I'm afraid we have another kind of problem."

"What kind?" Mokuba frowned.

Roland handed a file to Mokuba. "The board members called out a meeting."

Mokuba bit his lip as he scanned the documents Roland had given him. "When?"

"First time tomorrow morning." Roland answered.

"What for?" Anzu asked, all those business things were so confusing to her.

Mokuba sighed as he sat back down on his chair. "The company hasn't been doing so well since...People are getting worried that I might not be able to keep it up until Seto come back...or that he might not make it. Some of our rivals company sent buying offers, really generous offers actually, which of course I've turned down."

"The board members are all shareholders of the company, they don't trust Mokuba and don't believe the company will survive. So for them, it's in their best interest to sell out the company while it is still worth something." Roland continued.

Anzu frowned. "So...they want to take over the company to sell it?" Mokuba nodded. "But I though Seto owned more then half the the shares.

"True." Roland said. "But it won't matter if he isn't there to vote."

"What can you do?" Anzu asked.

"Not much." Mokuba said. "I only own two percent of the company. I'm the vice president only because Seto decided so...probably to avoid having a real vice president." He added with a soft smile. "Together the board members have more than half the remaining shares, so unless we find a way to make Seto attend this meeting, there's nothing we can do."

"Well unless Seto makes a miraculous recovery over the next twelve hours we'll have to think of something else." Anzu said. "Are you sure there isn't another way."

Mokuba laid back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. Maybe he board members were right, maybe he should just sell it, who was he to toy with so many people's lives? But the company was his brother's life, he had worked so hard to make it what it was today. But what could he do? There was no way he could get enough shares to stop this...the only way out was for Seto to stop them himself, he was the only one with enough shares...but there was no way for him to make it...unless. "I think...I might have an idea. I have to check out some things. I'll stop by the hospital later." Mokuba said before quickly walking out of the office. Anzu looked questioningly at Roland but the bodyguard merely shrugged.

Figuring that Mokuba could be busy for a while and that she doubted she could be useful to him in anyway, Anzu decided to go visit Kaiba without him and see how he was doing. As Roland had said earlier, nothing much had changed since she had seen him in the morning, he had been slipping in and out of consciousness through the day, but wouldn't stay awake more than a minute or two every few hours. When Anzu arrived, he was either sleeping or unconscious and when he didn't answer her, she didn't push the issues, he needed his rest. She stayed with him for maybe an hour, telling his of her day as she had been doing when he was walking her home.

* * *

Early the next morning, Anzu once again made a small detour by the hospital before heading to work. The halls were mostly silent and empty as not many people were up yet, as it was barely past 6 o'clock. However, she soon found out that she wasn't the only one who came for an early visit. As she entered the ICU she spotted Mokuba ahead heading for the room his brother was in, along with two other people, a man and a woman, both wearing suits.

She jogged up to them, Roland following close behind. "Hey Mokuba." She called out softly when she was nearer to avoid waking up other patients.

Mokuba turned around and smiled at her. "Good morning."

Anzu saw the huge bags under the teenagers eyes and frowned. "Did you sleep last night?"

"I've had a lot of things to do." Mokuba said as he opened the door of Kaiba's room. "I just need something from Seto before I can go to the meeting."

Mokuba, followed by his two companions, went straight to Kaiba's bed under Anzu's curious eyes. Mokuba gently shook his brother and called out his name, but Kaiba didn't so much as stir. Mokuba bit his lips. "Come on Seto, I need you to wake up." He said shaking him again with a little bit more force. When, once again, he got no answer, he frowned. "I'm sorry Seto, but it's really important." Mokuba apologized before pressing on one of Kaiba's injury, to too much, but causing enough pain so that Kaiba woke up with a startled cry.

"Mokuba! What the hell are you doing?" Anzu asked, almost in shock as she ran to Kaiba's side.

Kaiba was panting hard and had brought up his hand over the injury Mokuba had just touched as he glared up at Mokuba, tears of pain forming in his eyes. However, before he could curse his little brother properly for what he had done, the teen held up a sheet of paper in front of him. "I need you to sign this."

Figuring that it was probably important, Kaiba decided that he could always kill his brother later and started quickly reading the document Mokuba had brought him.

One of the two men who had come with Mokuba spoke up. "Hum, Mr. Kaiba, this document is-"

"Shut up." Kaiba interupted him. "I can read." After Mokuba's little stunt, he was in a really bad mood and he didn't really like what he was reading so far.

"I swear it's only temporary. I'll return it." Mokuba said quickly.

Once he was done reading, Kaiba turned his gaze to his little brother. "That bad huh?"

Mokuba sighed. "Board meeting's in less than two hours." He explained. "If you have another idea..."

"You don't have to. I won't hold it against you." Kaiba said.

"I won't let them take away what you've worked so hard to build." Mokuba said fiercely.

"Give me a pen." Kaiba asked.

"Mr. Kaiba." Quickly said the same man who had spoken earlier. "This is complete madness. Surely you can understand that it's in your best interest to-"

"I told you to shut up." Kaiba snapped angrily. " I don't care what you think. You're job here is to be a witness and make sure that I have enough of my senses to know what I'm doing." He said as he quickly signed the document Mokuba was holding out to him.

Quickly, the woman came next to the bed and held out a computer to Kaiba. "I need your code sir." Swiftly, Kaiba taped a few numbers on the computer and laid back in the bed. The effect of the adrenaline rush caused by the pain was quickly wearing off, he was starting to get tired and the pain was coming back. Then, both the man and woman signed the document, the man commenting that this was madness, and walked out of the room. Mokuba followed them but Kaiba called him.

"Mokuba" The teen turned around and looked at him questioningly. Smirking, Kaiba said. "Go show them who's boss." Then his smirk turned into a glare. "And do that again and I swear I'll make sure you can never have children."

Mokuba laughed at the treat. "I'll come back later." He said before leaving.

Kaiba sighed as he tried to make himself comfortable on the bed while keeping movements to a minimum. It was ridiculous how exhausted he was after just moving one arm.

"Are you ok?" Anzu asked, she was worried by what Mokuba had done to wake him up. "Do you want me to get a doctor?"

Kaiba tried to shake his head, but finally gave up the idea of moving altogether. "No."

"If you don't mind me asking...what did you just do?"

Kaiba opened one eye to look at her. "I sold Kaiba Corp. to Mokuba."

Anzu's eyes widened, there was no way she heard that right, but she could see that Kaiba was struggling to stay awake so she decided against pushing the issue for now and let him rest. "I'll come by after my shift."

* * *

Well, this came up a little short, sorry about that (I fell like I'm teasing you) But since next week is the carnaval, you'd probably have to wait a few more days for me to add the missing part...and seriously you have waited enough. I'm really sorry for the wait, but I do hope I'll be able to keep updating on a steady basis from now on. Let's see...I should be able to keep an update each one or two weeks (depending on the weeks).


	27. A new leader

Chapter 27: A new leader

Mokuba sighed as he sat down on his chair in the small conference room the meeting was being held in. Although he knew he had nothing to worry about, he was still nervous. Even if he knew how to run the company, he had little experience when it came to dealing with people. The teenager watched in silence for the next few minutes as the board members came in one after another, making silent observations to himself. Kaiba had told him times and times again who important it was to observe people around him, all the information he could get out of details that would seem insignificant to an untrained eye. He noted who came in with who, who talked to who, where they sat, those who greeted him and those who ignored him. Quickly, he got a good enough idea of whom he had to watch out for and who was just playing the part of a sheep.

Much as Mokuba expected, the man who sat straight across of him, a tall lean man in his mid forty with short graying hair, stood up to speak. His name was Vincent Burns, a man in his mid thirties. Kaiba had often told him he didn't trust the man...and since Kaiba didn't trust any of his employees on a general basis, the fact that he felt the need to voice out his distrust told the younger Kaiba to be weary of him.

"As you all know, the company hasn't been doing well without Mr. Kaiba. As things are going, it is doubtful the company is going to make it until he comes back...supposing he does." Most people in the room nodded as they agreed with what the man had said. Everyone except Mokuba, who was laying almost nonchalantly against his chair, letting Vincent talk. "We've received a most generous offer from Mr. Bristel for the company, an offer we won't be getting again, which, our vice president wants to turn down." Heads turned to Mokuba as Vincent said those words, Mokuba only stared back. "Although, we admire your loyalty to your brother, we have invested a lot of money in this company, we can't risk everything on the chance that Mr. Kaiba will be back and clearly you are not the business man your brother is. Don't take it personal Mokuba, it is for the best, for all of us."

"So..." Vincent continued. "I am proposing to take Mr. Kaiba's place as president to negotiate the sell of the company. Those in favor?" Vincent raised his hand, as did most of the people in the room, but Mokuba was surprised to see a young woman, probably barely older than his brother, not raise her hand. Mokuba didn't recognize her, but he took a mental note to check out who she was later. "The motion has been approved, I'll be sure to-"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you Vincent." Mokuba called out. "I'm afraid you didn't count the votes correctly." Mokuba smirked slightly. "From where I'm standing, your motion has actually been refused." He said as he slid a folder across the table to him. "You see, Seto sold me his shares of the company this morning."

The room in erupted in conversation as everyone tried to speak together, trying to figure out what was going on. Frowning, Vincent took the folder and scanned the documents in it, everyone calmed down while he did so, his frown increased as he read. "You can't be serious." Mokuba only grinned. "There's no way he would have agreed to such madness, obviously he wasn't in a correct state of mind to make such a decision."

Mokuba shrugged. "He looked to be in full possession of his mind when I went to see him this morning, and so did the two witnesses. Of course, you could also go see my brother and ask him yourself, but he's not really in a good mood, something about people trying to take away his company while he's injured."

"You are doing a terrible mistake. You'll only make us lose everything." Vincent cried out.

"Kaiba Corp. belongs to my brother." Mokuba said as he stood up and faced the man. "He worked hard all his life to make it what it is today and I won't let sell it out for your own little profit. You can either sell out your shares now if you want or you can trust in Seto's decision to put me in charge." The other members of the board started talking amongst themselves in whispers, considering Mokuba's words. After all, they trusted in Kaiba's abilities and, after all, it wasn't in their CEO's interest to let the company go down. "Now." Mokuba called over everyone. "I have lots of things to do, does anyone have anything else to say?" Everyone just stared in silence. "Good, this meeting is over."

* * *

"Look, I've told you already, I am not involved with Kaiba, we're old friends." Anzu said for what felt the thousandth time today. However, the person in front of her, a woman in her early thirty with short curly black hair and large square glasses, didn't seem to believe her. She was also holding a pen and a notebook, giving her the paparazzi look.

"Then what where you both doing together that night?" She asked,

Anzu sighed. "I've told you, we are friend. Now, you either buy something or get lost."

"Tss, do you always treat your costumers that way?"

"You haven't bought anything yet, so you are not a costumer."

"Shouldn't you stay at Mr. Kaiba's side while he recovers? It's really uncaring of you to be here while he's in the hospital."

"Alright, listen, I'm going to speak really really slowly so you can understand : Get The Hell Out." Anzu said, stressing out every word.

"Is there a problem?" Both woman looked up at Roland, who was looking down at the reporter.

The older woman smirked. "I know you, you are Kaiba's personal bodyguard. So there is something-"

"I am actually Mokuba's bodyguard." Roland said. "And he asked me to protect his friend from nagging reporters like you. So, you either leave silently or I'll have to escort you out."

The lady frowned and left trying to look dignified. "Thanks." Anzu told Roland.

"That's what I'm here for."

Anzu smiled as she started to clean the tables, it was almost time to close and that woman had made her late in the clean up. "Scaring reporters away must not be the most heroic thing you've done in your life."

Roland laughed a little. "Perhaps not, but I'm passed the age of doing such reckless things. I have my family to think about." He said, smiling fondly.

"They're back in Japan aren't they?" Anzu asked.

Roland nodded. "The kids have school, so I can't have them follow me everywhere. Although I haven't been traveling much since I've been in charge of Mokuba."

"By the way..." Anzu had wanted to ask him something for a while but it had slipped out of her mind until now. "You arrived only a few hours after we were attacked, so you were already well on your way here." Roland nodded even though it wasn't really a question. "But Seto said that Mokuba wouldn't be coming over for the spring break. Actually...he said that he was leaving." She said, trying not to sound as sad and disappointed as the thought made her.

Roland shrugged. "Mokuba suddenly wanted to come here, he didn't tell me why."

Anzu frowned, Mokuba had told her that he believe Seto wanted to leave to avoid her and that he wouldn't let him do it. But Anzu had no idea how the kid planned to do that, she had no doubts that as soon as he was fit enough, Seto would want to leave again. Saddened by her thoughts, Anzu finished cleaning up and closed the café. Before leaving, she made a hot chocolate and grabbed a few pastry for Mokuba.

Tired for her day at work, she made her way to Kaiba Corp. knowing Mokuba would still be there. When they arrived, Roland excused himself as he had some things to take care of, he knew Anzu would be safe inside the building and wouldn't need him. So, Anzu took the elevator alone to the top floor. When the doors finally opened, she wasn't surprised to see Kaiba's secretary still working at her desk, she had been there every single day she came here. When she heard the sound of the elevator, the woman looked up from her work and, when she recognized her, glared at Anzu.

The dancer did her best to try and ignore her as she always did, but she had spend the last two days at work enduring the same look from countless other girls and women and seriously, she had enough. "Do you have a problem?" She asked as she turned back around to look at the secretary. The woman quickly looked back down at her work, mumbling something that Anzu couldn't make out, though she was certain it wasn't anything nice.

* * *

Mokuba was sitting at his desk, in his brother's office, quickly scanning through files, happily humming to himself. A smiled appeared on his face as he remembered the look on Vincent's face when he announced that he was now the owner of Kaiba Corp. It had been priceless. But Mokuba knew that the man had been right, it was a dangerous bargain and all of this was useless unless he could properly run the company until Seto was back. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do so alone, he wasn't half the businessman his brother was, he was going to need help, and that's what he was trying to find.

There was a soft knock on the door, Mokuba halted his work and looked up as Anzu opened the door slightly and smiled, putting the files down, Mokuba invited her in. "You look horrible." He noted.

"I don't like your secretary." Anzu said as she sat on a chair in front of Mokuba and handed him the food and drink she had brought with her.

"I don't like her either, but she's good at her job. She has been here for years...usually they all leave in tears after 3 months, replacing her would be a pain in the ass." Mokuba explained while eating a donuts.

"But why is she always looking at me like that?"

"She's just jealous of you." Mokuba explained nonchalantly. "As are all the other girls and women on the planet."

"You mean...she's a fan girl?" Anzu asked, a little confused.

"They all are. No one in their right mind would want to be my brother's personal secretary for more than 5 minutes."

Anzu smiled a little. "I guess that's true. I'm suppose you are too busy to come and see Seto with me, aren't you?"

"Right, he's all yours." Mokuba winked, making Anzu blush a little.

"Stop this, you know there is nothing between me and your brother." Anzu protested but Mokuba only chuckled as he led Anzu back outside, as Anzu left, Mokuba watched the secretary, she didn't look up at Anzu nor glared at her, but he could feel the animosity.

Frowning, Mokuba went back in the office and called Roland. "Hey Roland, I need you to check out something for me."

* * *

Kaiba opened his eyes when he heard the door of his room opening, Anzu walked in and smiled as she closed the door behind herself. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Horrible." Kaiba answered as he closed his eyes. "You don't look so good yourself."

"I'm alright." Anzu said as she sat down next to him. "I don't want to bother you with it, you should be resting."

Kaiba frowned, though he kept his eyes closed. "I've been doing nothing but resting lately."

Anzu smiled. "Seto, You've been shot three days ago, give yourself a chance."

"I'm tired or resting and I'm bored." Kaiba replied. "I heard you had troubles with my fan girls." He said, smirking a little.

The little reminder of her horrible day made her temper boil again. "Huh, don't even mention them. I've never seen such a concentration of fanatic idiocy in all my life. How can you live with that?"

"I glare a lot and make them cry."

Anzu sighed. "You probably have more important things to worry about then my problems."

Kaiba shook his head. "I like it, when you tell me how your day was."

"Really?" Anzu asked, surprise. "I didn't think you were actually paying attention. I thought it was bothering you more than anything."

"I would have told you to shut up if you had been bothering me." Kaiba answered.

Anzu chuckled a little, knowing well enough that he indeed would have told her. "It's just, you never say much, so it's hard to tell. What would be so interesting about my life."

Kaiba shrugged with his not injured shoulder. "I like spending time with you, and...well, I haven't taken the time to relax...I guess it's nice to talk to someone about nothing important. Even if you do all the talking." He didn't speak for a while, which making Anzu believe he had drifted back to sleep, but, to her surprise he spoke again. "Hey, Anzu? Do you know what happened with the woman who attacked us?"

"You should probably ask your bodyguard about that." Anzu answered.

"I did." Kaiba answered, sneering a little. "They only said that she had been caught and to not worry about her. I think Mokuba ordered them to not tell me anything."

"He probably just doesn't want you to trouble yourself over it." Anzu answered. "I don't know much, I think they caught her right after the attack, she was some kind of mentally ill person. I think her name was Helen or-"

"Helena?" Kaiba finished for her.

"You know her?" Anzu asked.

"Not personally, we just had some troubles with her last year. She actually managed to make it to my office once. But I've never considered she could be this dangerous." He said, pensively.

Feeling uneasy about the direction of the conversation, Anzu tried to change the subject. "By the way...did you really sold Kaiba Corp to him?" Kaiba nodded, he felt that Anzu wasn't comfortable talking about Helena so he didn't push the issue. "Aren't you...worried?" She asked

Kaiba frowned. "About that? You think that he might betray me and not give it back?"

Anzu felt bad for thinking about something like that about Mokuba but she still pushed on. "I mean...What you did...you just gave away your company without any hesitation...you wouldn't have even considered it a few months ago."

Kaiba smiled bitterly, thinking of how bad his relationship with Mokuba was back then. Anzu was right, although he had no doubt that Mokuba wouldn't have betrayed him, he never would have trusted him like this. But right now he wasn't worried one bit and...he like that feeling. "I trust him." Was all he could answer. "He'll probably blackmail me a little first, though."

Anzu frowned. "Blackmail you? To do what?"

Kaiba smiled mysteriously, he had a little idea what his brother would want. "You'll see."

* * *

Alright, another chapter done. I have a small trip to do next weekend and I have to prepare myself for a surgery I'll be assisting the week after that, so that means that I might not be able to update next weekend, but I promise it will be there on the weekend after that at the latest.


	28. All it takes is one phone call

In the end my mid term exams and vacation prevented me from updating. Sorry for the delay.

Chapter 28: All it takes is one phone call

Anzu stayed a little while longer with Kaiba, telling him about what had been going on those last few days, but the CEO was still weak and soon fell asleep. When she arrived home, it was still relatively early and both Matt and Kaytleen were away. It was spring break after all, they both had plans with their friends or family, suddenly, Anzu felt really lonely standing there alone in the apartment. She checked the time then counted mentally, it was the middle of the day in Japan, she could try to call the guys, they were probably worried.

She went to the living room and picked up the phone but it wasn't working. Frowning, she checked it out and found that it had been unplugged. She chuckled a little, Matt and Kay probably had had enough of all the phone calls, she plugged it back in and dialed Yugi's phone number. She didn't have to wait long before she heard the familiar voice of her best friend.

"Hello?"

"Hi Yugi." She said, a smile appearing on her face, she couldn't believe how good it felt to speak to him.

Yugi sighted in relief when he heard her speak. "God, Anzu...we've been worried about you, are you alright?"

"Yea, just a scratch."

"That's good to hear. We've tried calling you a few times but we couldn't get to you." Yugi said.

"Yea, sorry about that." Anzu said, grinning sheepishly, she could hear other distant voices over the phone, she couldn't make out what was being said but she could recognize Joey and Tristan's voices. "I've been getting a little too popular to my liking. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner...things have just been...rough."

"How's Kaiba?"

Anzu sighed. "He got hurt really badly, he's conscious but..."

"He's strong, Anzu. I'm sure he'll make it." Yugi said. "Beside, Joey called dibs on killing him."

Anzu chuckled a little at Joey's over protectiveness. "Is he mad at me?" She hadn't told Joey that she was now friend with Kaiba because she knew he wouldn't approve of it, but now there was no way he hadn't seen the picture of them dancing together.

"He's actually more angry at Seto for _daring_ to go anywhere near you. Kaiba has...a certain reputation concerning his dating habits and Joey doesn't like that he _set his eyes_ on you. But you have enough to worry about, I'll handle him until things get sorted out."

Anzu sighed. "Thanks...I know he cares and all, but I just can't handle him demanding to know what's going on between me and Seto and everything."

"Now that you mention it..." Yugi asked, smiling mischievously. "What is going on between you two?"

"Nothing!" Anzu denied, blushing slightly.

"Anzu...I can practically hear you blush. And I've seen the picture."

"It's...complicated...I don't really feel like talking about it..." Yugi smiled, but he obliged her and changed the subject of the conversation, he could understand her need to escape from the situation and that she didn't want to talk about this while Joey and Tristan were around.

* * *

Mokuba was slightly disappointed when he entered his brother's hospital room and found him asleep. It wasn't really surprising since Kaiba was still weak and under pain medication, but he had hoped to maybe have at least a little conversation with him. The teen yawned as he sat down on the chair next to his brother's bed, it was already past midnight and the day had been along one. He had wished his brother could give him an advice or two, but apparently he would have to do without it.

* * *

When Mokuba woke up the next morning, his neck hurt and he was disoriented, but there was also the nice, and somewhat familiar feeling one someone stroking his hair.

"You're going to be late." Kaiba said. Mokuba answered him with a few mumbled word, to which he laughed.

After a few more moments, Mokuba finally pushed himself up straight on the chair, groaning a little as he tried to stretch his soar neck. He then do a quickly glance around him, he was still in the hospital room, meaning he had fell asleep. He checked his watch, it was a little before seven, his brother was right, he was going to be late if he didn't get going. "Hey...How are you?" He asked sleepily.

Kaiba shrugged weakly as he closed his eyes. "Feels like someone is stabbing me each time I take a breath."

Mokuba smiled as he gently stroked the side of his brother's face. "Just rest, you'll feel better soon. I'll come back later tonight, ok?" He said before leaving the room.

As Mokuba made his way toward the exit of the hospital, he crossed Anzu who was coming in to visit Seto. "Hey, how are you?" He asked her.

Anzu smiled. "I'm fine, you sure are here early."

Mokuba smiled a little guiltily. "I fell asleep in Seto's room."

"How is he?" Anzu asked.

"Much the same...he's in pain and still weak...but I think he's getting better." He said. "I have to go. I'll see you later."

"Have a nice day. I'll stop by after work." Anzu said before going on her way to Kaiba's room, not noticing that Roland stayed behind.

"You were right." Roland said as he handed a file to Mokuba. The teen quickly scanned the documents, a frown appearing on his face. "Should we try to find more evidence?"

"No. I want her out of the picture as soon as possible, beside I don't think it would be possible to get enough proofs to formally accuse her of anything." Mokuba answered. "Let's have a few words with her. Shall we?" Both of them started on their way outside, but Mokuba stopped short when he put his hands in his vest pocket. "Damnit...I lost my phone." He said, turning around to look behind him. "I must have dropped it in Seto's room. I'll be right back."

* * *

Once Mokuba left, Anzu made her way to Kaiba's room, she knocked softly on the door before entering. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Kaiba speaking on a cell phone.

"...Yes...you know what to do..." He said tiredly, his eyes darted toward her as she came in. He then closed the cell phone and let his arm fall back down to his side, dropping the cell phone on the ground.

Confused, Anzu walked next to him and picked up the phone. "What where you doing?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Kaiba answered in a whisper.

Before Anzu could question him further, the door of the room opened and Mokuba walked him. He sighed and smiled when he saw Anzu with the cell phone in her hands. "Great, you found it." Despite feeling like there was something going on that she didn't know about, Anzu handed the cell phone to Mokuba. "Thanks. I'll see you later." He called as he darted back out of the room.

Anzu raised an eyebrow at Kaiba, even though his eyes were closed. "What was that about?"

"Just a phone call." Kaiba answered simply.

"You're hiding something from me...and from Mokuba." Anzu accused him.

Kaiba opened his eyes and gave her a serious look. "There are a lot of things neither nor need to know."

Anzu sighed, giving up on trying to make him talk, she knew it was pointless. "How are you?"

Kaiba smiled bitterly. "You don't want to know...You look in a good mood."

"Yea...I've... spoke with the guys...yesterday." She said hesitantly, she doubted Kaiba's opinion of her friends had changed much. "They told me to tell you to get better soon."

Kaiba chuckled a little. "I kinda doubt it."

"Yugi did." Anzu said. "Joey is forbidding you to die until he can come here and kill you himself." She said, grinning sheepishly.

"How sweet of him. Well...I can't disappoint him, can I?"

* * *

"Say, Miria?" Mokuba asked, making the young secretary stopped her work to look up at him. "I was wondering. Supposing that Anzu had died, do you really think that Seto would have realized his undying love for you and you two would have been happy ever after?"

"What are you talking about?" Miria asked, frowning as Mokuba sat down on the chair in front of her desk while Roland stayed up next to him.

"I'm talking about you sending a crazy woman after Anzu." Mokuba said, suddenly turning serious.

"Are you accusing me?" The secretary scoffed. "You're being ridiculous. Why would I want to kill her?"

"I know Seto's been sleeping with you for the past few years, despite him 'officially' being with other women, but that all stopped with Anzu." Mokuba said. "It was different with her, he actually loves her while you were never more than a quick lay. It's understandable that you'd be jealous."

"I'm not jealous." She shot back.

"Please." Mokuba snorted. "It was written all over your face, you were always a bitch to her, sending her nasty looks. You knew about Helena since you were working when she managed to get in the building and you're the one who booked the reservation for Seto and Anzu that night. You're the only one who knew he was going with Anzu, you knew early enough to have the time to plan this and the phone call to Helena was made during your lunch break."

Helena frowned. "My lunch time is the same as like 50 percent of the city. You don't have any proofs."

Mokuba smirked, the coldest smirk to ever make it on his face. "I am Mokuba Kaiba, what makes you think I need proofs? It took me four days to figure it out, how long do you think it's going to take Seto? I wouldn't be surprised he already did." The teen stood up and walked passed the secretary toward his brother's office. "You're fired by the way. If I were you, I wouldn't stick around too long, Seto isn't very forgiving to those who hurt his loved one, people who hurt me have a tendency to mysteriously disappear." Mokuba said thoughtfully before walking in the office.

Startled, Miria stayed still behind her desk, she had been so careful not to leave any trace of her actions, it never occurred to her that it wouldn't matter. Angry, she grabbed her purse and made her way to the underground parking. It was all her fault, that stupid little dancer just had to ruin everything. What was so special about her anyway? She had been there for Kaiba for years, working so hard doing everything she could and that girl just popped out of nowhere and took everything away from her. Now her life was ruined, Anzu Mazaki was going to pay.

Still fuming over her defeat, she frantically searched her purse for her car key, not noticing the two men coming her way. It was only when she looked up to open the door that she saw the reflections in the window of the car.

* * *

"Sorry I'm a little late." Mokuba said as he entered his office. A young woman, the same one who was at the board meeting the day before turned around and smiled softly. After the meeting, Mokuba had been doing some research and he name popped up. Rachel Harthley had long black hair that went to her mid back and large brown eyes, she had a small stature and girlish face, barely looked to be eighteen, despite having recently turned 25. She looked little a little girl lost in the adult world and she was terribly shy therefore she had problems speaking up for herself or getting her ideas acknowledged hence she never climbed up the ladder in the company. But she was by far one of the smarted employees and Mokuba had the feeling she would be perfect for this.

"It's alright." She said. "I understand that you have other things to worry about. How is your brother?"

"As good as he can be, I guess." Mokuba said as he sat down behind the desk. "Before we start, I'm a little curious, Mrs Harthley, you don't have enough actions to make a difference in a board meeting, why bother?"

"It's not easy being a woman in this business, especially with my look. No one wanted to hire me when I finished my studies. Even here, they wouldn't have me, but by coincidence I crossed path with your brother on my way out, I didn't recognized him and bitched about how unfair the whole things was. The next day I was hired, I haven't personally seen Mr. Kaiba since then and I only realized a few weeks later who he was. I just couldn't stand letting those old bastard take advantage of what happened to, him after what he did for me. Now that I've answered your question, could you tell me why I'm here?"

Mokuba smiled. "Well, as you know, Seto won't be back for a little while and there is no way I can do everything he used to do myself. You've been working here ever since the company opened in America, you also have a more than perfect record, first of your class, majored with honors. I can see why Seto hired you, though he have the habit of not using people to their full potential."

The woman frowned. "I'm not sure I'm following...Are you offering me another job?"

"Yes." Mokuba said. "I need someone to help with with all the stuff and you are the most qualified."

Rachel frowned. "Are you kidding? I can't do this, I can't work speak in front of people to save myself."

"Relax, I know, you won't have to, I swear. You'll only have to answer to me and you won't have to speak in front of anyone if you don't want to." Mokuba said.

"Why me?" She asked hesitantly.

"Because, aside from your total lack of communication skills, you are a genius, you could do so much more with me and I really need your help. I'm offering you the schedule you want and a better pay, if you don't like it you can always take your current job back."

Rachel hesitated a little, she knew her changes of ever getting another opportunity like this were close to none, she just didn't have was it takes to lead other people and she was getting really bored at her current job. "Alright."

"Oh, one last things." Mokuba said. "You don't...have some kind of crush or obsession over my brother, do you?" He asked chuckling.

* * *

Well that's it everyone, sorry again for the delay. it's late so I won't make a long note. Expect the next chapter for in a week or two.


	29. Morning of changes

Chapter 29: Morning of changes.

Mokuba smiled as he looked at his reflexion in the mirror, checking out how he looked in his new school uniform. He couldn't help but grin as he thought about his brother's reaction, it wasn't often he got to surprise his brother with anything, Seto had a way to always know just about everything. But In the past week, since his damned secretary tried to take Anzu out, his brother hadn't had the strength nor the will to care about anything or keep an eye on him. Not that Mokuba blamed his brother, he too had almost died a few months ago, he understood his brother just didn't have the energy.

But he had some suspicions that his brother had actually made an exception with his secretary. The woman had simply vanished after he fired her, and he doubted that she had the power to make herself disappear on her own so fast. His eyes drifted to his cell phone on his nightstand, he had not gave it a second thought that morning, but now he had his doubts that he phone hadn't 'fell' from his pocket during the night. But seriously, he didn't want to know, it might be childish and maybe a little hypocritical, but there were some things about his brother he felt he was better off not knowing.

However, things were going better and better. Anzu was safe, Seto's health was improving everyday and things were improving at Kaiba Corp. Rachel had been unbelievable, she was quick, efficient, she knew what she had to do and didn't need any supervision, her work was always perfect. He had no idea what he would have done without her those past few days, how his brother had managed to do all this still eluded him. Of course, aside from preventing him from killing himself during the last few days, there was another reason he had hired the woman: he hoped she would impress his brother enough that he would keep her. Mokuba was worried that when Seto would leave the hospital he'd go back to his old habits and he was doing everything he could to prevent that.

* * *

Kaiba opened his eyes to look up at Anzu as she walked inside the room. "Good morning." She said as she smiled at him. "I have something for you." Anzu said as she sat down on her usual chair and took out a lunchbox from her bag and placing it on the table over his bed. "I thought you'd prefer this over hospital food."

"...Thanks." Kaiba said, pushing himself of his bed to a straighter position. He hesitated a little before finally taking a bite, between his injury, the pain and the amount of drugs he was on, he wasn't really hungry. He hadn't been able to eat much in the last few days even though he knew he needed to, and the crappy hospital food hadn't been helping either. "This is...actually good." He said after his second bite.

"Why do you say it like it's surprising?" Anzu frowned.

"Because it is." Kaiba said before taking a second bite.

"You're lucky you're injured, or else..." Anzu muttered, frustrated, but at the same time, she took Kaiba's nagging as a sign that he was feeling better. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Better I guess. It still hurts...and I feel like I'm constantly out of breath but its...manageable." He said while picking at his food, feeling a little guilty for wasting it. "I'm also bored as hell." He said, frowning a little. "Mokuba still won't let me have any contact with anyone or anything."

"And he's right, you need to rest." Anzu said.

"I know." Kaiba said as he let himself lay back to rest against the raised back of the bed, wincing slightly at the pain. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Well at least you don't have to go to school today." Anzu sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if people tried to stone me to death..."

"You can take Roland with you if you want." Kaiba chuckled.

"Oh yes, because having a bodyguard in school is going to make this whole situation so much better." Anzu said sarcastically.

"Just tell them off. Geez you're actually hanging out with _me _and you're afraid of a few stupid girls."

"I don't really see what's supposed to be scary about you. You don't impress me." Anzu said, half mockingly.

Kaiba was a little picked by Anzu's comment but before he could make any snide remark, Mokuba entered the room.

"Good morning!" Mokuba happily said as he closed the door behind him

Kaiba frowned, instantly on his guard, his brother on such a good mood usually meant the kid had something up his sleeve that he wasn't going to like. But it also reassured him that Mokuba seemed to be doing so well, on the first few days after he was shot, his little brother had been a total mess. But in the last few days he had quickly been getting better and he was curious why. He had asked Anzu but she had no idea what was going on at Kaiba Corp. and Kaiba was starting to suspect that his little brother was actually having fun preventing him from learning anything.

"You look better." Mokuba noted.

"So do you." Kaiba answered, noticing that his brother looked a lot less stressed and more rested than he had a few days ago.

"Is that so?" Mokuba answered, clearly enjoying not giving his brother any straight answer. Mokuba's attention then diverted to the lunchbox on the table, mostly untouched, he had not yet eat breakfast this morning and he loved Anzu's cooking. Smirking, Kaiba slowly pushed the box out of his little brother's reach, making Mokuba glare at him, knowing his brother wasn't even going to eat it.

"Here." Anzu interrupted the two brother's staring contest, handing Mokuba a second lunch box.

"Wow thanks Anzu. You're the best." The teen said, taking the box from her before sticking his tongue out to his brother, causing Anzu to roll her eyes at the brother's immaturity.

"Mokuba?" Anzu asked as the kid sat down to eat. "Is that a school uniform?" Kaiba raised an eyebrow as he gave a closer look to his brother, he hadn't noticed at first because it differed from the uniforms he was used to, but sure enough, it was a school uniform.

Mokuba smiled the most innocent smile ever. "Of course, spring break is over."

"You are actually going to school _here_?" Kaiba asked, frowning.

"Well I can't really go back to Japan and beside, I've grown quite fond of this country." Mokuba closed the now empty lunchbox and smiled. "Well, I have to go, I wouldn't want to be late on my first day. Thanks for the lunch." He said before leaving.

Anzu looked at Kaiba with a questioning look, silently asking him what was going on but the now ex-CEO only shrugged. "Well, I have to go too." Anzu said as she stood up. "You should try to eat more." She said before leaving. As soon as she was outside of the room, she hurried to catch up with Mokuba. "Exactly what are you playing at?" She asked once she caught up with him.

Mokuba chuckled a little. "I thought it was actually pretty obvious." The teen answered. "I told you I wouldn't let Seto leave like that."

"So you're staying?" Anzu asked. "But...isn't that a bit much? I mean...you're leaving everything you have in Japan..."

"So did you." Mokuba pointed out.

"For my dreams!" Anzu countered. "This is different."

Mokuba sighed. "I appreciate your concern Anzu, but really, I want to do this. Whatever it is that is going on between you two, it's good for Seto. I can't let him leave and if staying here can assure that then I will. Seto has given up a lot of things for me, I want to help him."

Anzu smiled a little. "Just be careful that you don't start resenting him for it."

Mokuba grinned. "You worry too much, beside, I'm going to have way too much fun."

* * *

This is short, I know, but I'm working 12 hours shifts for the next 6 days so I don't think I'll be of a mind to write for a few days and you have all been more than patient. I apologize for being so late and the shortness of the chapter. The end of term had been terrible so I haven't been able to write much.

Clearly don't expect anything for the next few days as I'm working way too much, I might be able to update the next chapter at the end of next week or the weekend, so in about 10 days or so.


	30. Emotion high

OMG I don't like the new side menu (I'm old and reluctant to all changes)

Sorry this is late, I've had lots of personal trouble. Since the last chapter I had a boyfriend (for more than 72 hours this time), who happens to be a good friend from my school, and then I had to break up with him because I didn't have feelings for him. Yay me.

Chapter 30: Emotion high.

Anzu sighed, hesitating in front of the gate, looking at her school. If there was one thing she had learned since she first started school here in America, it was that things where the same everywhere, and although people here where slightly older, it was still much the same as going to high school. All the main stereotypes from high school where still there and she didn't doubt for one minutes that many people in the school had something to say about her being 'with' Kaiba. Ok, so it was stupid, she had to endure fans all week long at her job so she shouldn't mind anymore, but for some reason going back to the school and all the drama scared the hell out of her. Being on her own, without Roland's protection didn't really help her feel confident.

It made her feel really stupid, she had never cared what others thought about her when she was in high school, why should she now? But back then she had been with her friends, friends she had known since she was little and whom she knew would stick by her side no matter what. She also had friends here, but it wasn't the same as Yugi, Joey and Tristan. Knowing she couldn't delay any longer, Anzu took a deep breath and entered the gate, walking toward the school while trying to make herself as little as possible, hoping Kaiba wasn't as popular with girls here than he was in Japan.

Luckily for her, she made it to her locker without any trouble, though she could feel the looks people where giving her, some pointing and whispering, no doubt wondering if the rumors where true.

"You've become quite popular haven't you?" Tiffany, one of Anzu's friend from school said as she opened her locker next to Anzu's. "Everyone is talking about you going out with this sexy rich guy."

"We are not going out." Anzu mumbled, a little tired to say it. "We're barely even friend."

"Really? Because you two looked really close on that picture."

"We've known each other for a long time." Anzu explained. "We meet here by chance and just started hanging out, that's really all that's going out."

"For now." Tiffany said.

Anzu sighed. "Please Tif, I've spent all my spring break dealing with reporters and crazy girls over this."

"Alright, fine." Tiffany answered, still smiling. "Still, you should try to stay low for a few days. Enough people had reason to dislike you already."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Anzu said, sighing. Ever since the first few weeks of school she had made enemies here. Early on teachers noticed Anzu for her skills as well as her exotic features, she quickly became one of the favorite, got the most lead roles and so on. The art world only had room for the best of the best, everybody in the school knew that and where all striving to be the best. Anzu was the best of her class, which of course meant that to the others, she was an obstacle some of them would gladly get rid of if they could. There had been a few failed attempts through the years, a few of the girls in her class had a tendency to 'trip' a lot _on_ her or stuff like that. Yea, it was that bad.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Anzu entered Kaiba's room in the hospital, it was already passed nine in the evening since she had to work after school. She went to see Mokuba as Kaiba Corp. but since the kid had also started school that day, he still had some work to do and couldn't come with her. She could see Kaiba was sleeping and tried to be as quiet as possible but he woke up as she sat on the chair next to the bed.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up." Anzu apologized.

"You look like you've had one hell of a day." Kaiba noted as he sat up straight.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Anzu said, crossing her arms in frustration. Kaiba raised an eyebrow and watched her silently. They both stayed silent for a few seconds until Anzu couldn't hold it in anymore. "I can't believe them!" She exclaimed, standing up suddenly and pacing around the room. "It was totally horrible, all those girls are nuts, you would think they'd find their brains after high school but no, they are still the same hopeless fan girls and they're out to get me. How the hell do you do it? You're the biggest asshole the world as ever seen and yet all the girls of this planet is completely obsessed with you." Anzu ranted, until she noticed Kaiba chuckling lightly at her. "And don't you dare laugh!" She said, glaring at him.

Anzu's command only succeeded in making him laugh even more, but Kaiba's laughter were quickly interrupted by a jolt of pain in his chest. The ex-CEO doubled over in pain, holding his side and coughing.

"Oh god, I'm sorry." Anzu apologized. In less than a second she was next to him, holding his shoulder and lowered to his level to check on him. "Are you alright?"

After a few seconds Kaiba's coughing stopped and he was able to answer her. "I'm fine." He said, still panting. "Don't worry." He said after a few more breaths, raising his head to look at her.

Anzu froze when his eyes met hers, he was so close to her...the only other time they had been this close was when they had danced together. The memory of that moment made Anzu blush as she remembered the feeling of his body moving against hers, how she couldn't turn her gaze away from his eyes. She also remembered her deception when the moment was interrupted, since then she had been wondering what would have happened if that man hadn't spoke when he did. She couldn't help but think that Kaiba was about to kiss her and god, at that time, she had wanted it really bad.

Totally lost in Kaiba's eyes, Anzu never even had the time to realize what was going on before she closed the distance between her and Kaiba. Kaiba stiffened, unsure how to react, he hadn't expected such a reaction out of her. Sensing him tense, Anzu suddenly realized what she was doing and pulled back quickly, raising her hand to cover her mouth. "Oh god...I...I'm so sorry. I..." She couldn't believe what she had done, panicked, she tried to stand up and move away, but Kaiba hadn't let go of her yet. Before she had the time to react he gently pulled her back to him and resumed their kiss. This time it was Anzu's turn to be stunned but it only lasted a second and she found herself responding before even realizing what was happening.

The kiss was slow, shy and hesitant from both side, as if both of them were asking permission to the other. When they broke up, Anzu could feel herself blush as she looked up hesitantly at Kaiba, she felt self conscious and afraid, knowing her face was as easy to read as a book for 5 years old kids. That Kaiba's face was as straight as usual didn't really help her feel any better. But when she looked at his eyes, she saw all the same emotions she was feeling: excitement, fear, hesitation, hope and a little glint of something else.

"_Now_, people have a reason to hate you." Kaiba said. Hesitantly, Anzu smiled up at him. Despite everything, this was still Kaiba and she knew this was the closest thing to an acceptation she was going to get.

With a sigh, Kaiba let go of her and let himself lay back against the bed. It annoyed him that he was still this weak and tired even after a week. "I should go." Anzu said as she stood up. "It's getting late." She knew Kaiba was tired but also that he was probably even more troubled than her and he was going to need to think long and hard about what had just happen and make sense of it. She thought it best to not stay and trouble him. "I'll come by, tomorrow." She said and smiled before closing the door behind her.

Anzu sighed as she made her way to the exit of the hospital. A blush and a grin appearing on her face as she thought back about the kiss, she felt like a 15 years old girl. She felt a little silly, but it had been a while since she had any interest in anyone. What was the harm in letting herself be girlish and happy for a few seconds? She knew this new situation was bound to bring its lot of troubles.

"Someone is in a good mood."

Anzu jumped slightly in surprise and tried to compose herself as Mokuba watched her with a questioning look. "H-hi!"

Mokuba eyes her suspiciously for a few second, making Anzu uncomfortable. "What makes you so happy?"

"Nothing." Anzu answered. "I...just had a good day." She lied, Mokuba would never let her hear the end of it if she told him what had really happened. "How are you?"

Mokuba looked at her for a few seconds more before giving up, for now at least. He shrugged. "Good I guess, it's going to take a while before the company recovers from all this mess though."

"Sorry about that..." Anzu apologized, looking down.

"How many times have I told you, stop blaming yourself. Beside, both you and Seto are safe, the company is going to be alright and I have the biggest leverage against my brother I ever had. Everything is peachy."

"I wonder, what are you going to ask from your brother in exchange for the company?"

Mokuba shrugged. "I can think of a few things."

"Don't you feel bad about yourself?" Anzu asked.

Mokuba's only answer was a devilish little grin as he passed next to her and headed for his brother's room. "I'll see you later!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaiba opened his eyes and looked up, when he heard the door of his room open. "Good evening." He said as he recognized Mokuba, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the pillow.

Mokuba stopped for a second and frowned. He closed the door behind him and walked up next to his brother. He stayed there for a few seconds, looking at his brother in silence, until Kaiba opened his eyes again. "Something wrong?" The eldest asked.

Mokuba's frown only deepened. "You're happy." For his brother to actually greet him first and with actually words, there was no doubt in Mokuba's mind that something had happened that had made his brother happy. With the years, Mokuba had become an expert at reading his brother's mood, from his way of speech, his voice, posture and even the slightest change in his expression and right now, everything in his brother was screaming that he was feeling good.

Kaiba only raised an eyebrow in answer.

"Anzu was really happy too." Mokuba said, carefully examining his brother's reaction.

Kaiba tried to show nothing as his brother looked him over. But the kid knew him way too well for Kaiba's comfort and Mokuba could see his brother had become uneasy when he mentioned Anzu. Kaiba tried not to frown as a smirk appeared on Mokuba's face. "Also, you have lipstick on you lips." The teen said, triumphant.

Kaiba's eyes widened slightly, instinctively, he wiped his mouth with his hand, but when he looked at it, his hand was clean. "There's noth-" He stopped mid sentence, realizing he had been had, Anzu wasn't wearing lipstick. He looked up at his brother who grinned back down at him.

"Seto and Anzu, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g." Mokuba said in a sing-song voice his grin only becoming wider with each word.

Kaiba groaned in annoyance before he let his head fall back on the bed and closed his eyes, turning his head away from his brother.

"Oh come on, don't be like that!" Mokuba said, chuckling as he turned the chair next to his brother's bed around and sat backward on it, resting his chin on its back. "I think it's great that you two finally decided to pick things up where you left them at your last _date._"

"It wasn't a date." Kaiba said, still not looking at his brother.

"Oh come on. Stop being a baby already." Mokuba said, making Kaiba turn his head around to glare at him. "I dare you to tell me you didn't want to kiss her when you two were dancing."

A tiny blush appeared on Kaiba's face at the memory of the dance, the feeling of Anzu's light body against his, oh yes he had wanted to kiss her.

It wasn't much, but Mokuba saw his brother's reaction and he smiled. "See? Why are you so afraid of it? You care about her!"

"That's what scares me." Kaiba said lightly as he stared absently at the ceiling. He had been with women before, lots of them actually, but he had never cared about them. He had never cared what they thought of him, that they were happy, he hadn't cared about hurting them. But he cared about Anzu and he knew he was going to hurt her eventually, intentionally or not and that scared him. He just didn't feel he was good enough for her...


	31. Free

I had first planned on finishing this chapter tomorrow, but then, Kiwi, my lovely little parrot that I love with all my heart (glare) decided to eat my earplug...again. This totally destroyed my plans to watch animes since I don't have speaker on my laptop.

Chapter 31: Free

Anzu groaned sleepily as she turned around in her bed and hid her head under her covers, trying to cut off the horrible noise of her alarm clock. After half a minute, she had to accept the fact that she was awake and it was time to get back to reality, even if she didn't want to. With a sigh, she pushed the covers away and closed her alarm, cursing the thing for ringing just when her dream was getting interesting. She blushing lightly as she thought back about her dream, it hadn't exactly been the purest of dreams, hell, it was downright naughty. To her defense, she had been single for and even though Kaiba could be a real ass most of the time, the guy was pure candy for the eyes.

Eventually, Anzu had no choice but to stop her daydream and get up. She knew she shouldn't get her hopes too high, romance was never like in the stories and romance with Kaiba was bound to be even more complicated. Anzu sighed as she took off her pajama to get dressed. For the past 6 months, hanging around Kaiba had been a continuous struggle: for each step forward Kaiba would go back three steps. The odds were high that the CEO would call what happened the previous evening a mistake and pretend it never happened.

Kaiba's handicapped relationship skills aside, Anzu still had to face another horrible day of school. And now, as Kaiba had so gently pointed out, they had a reason to hate her...apparently.

* * *

"You do realize I'm still not letting you anywhere near Kaiba Corp." Mokuba said with a serious tone, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his older brother put on a shirt.

Kaiba gave his brother a tired look, only getting dressed was taking its toll on him, there was no way he could even hope to take back his place yet. "My only wishes right now are to take a shower and sleep in a real bed." The former CEO said as he finished getting dressed. To his relief, the doctor had released him from the hospital and Kaiba was determined to not spend one minute more than he needed to in this place. Once he was done dressing himself, Kaiba slowly stood up and tried to walk but as soon as he moved everything became dizzy and he lost his balance.

Before he could even realize it, his little brother was next to him, helping him keep his balance. "You ok?" Mokuba asked.

Kaiba barely groaned against his brother's shoulder, has Mokuba supported him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized how much his little brother had grown, the kid was now barely shorter than him and he was probably almost as strong as him. He wondered when that had happened.

"Are you sure about this?" Mokuba asked again.

Kaiba nodded as he forced himself to stand up straight. "I'm fine."

Mokuba sighed but still obliged his brother. He knew Kaiba would probably be more comfortable and rest better at home, even if technically he barely ever went home. Slowly, he helped his brother down to the underground parking where the limo was waiting. Fortunately for Kaiba, it had been no problem for Mokuba to close up the parking for the time his brother got out. He didn't want any of those reporters after his brother.

As soon as he sat in the limo, Kaiba let out a sigh of relief and let himself slump against the seat. Moving around had taken almost all his energy and made his injuries ache. As soon as they got home he was going to let himself fall in his bed lay still until the end of the world. "Shouldn't you go back to Kaiba Corp.?" He asked as he heard his brother getting in the limo next to him.

Mokuba shrugged. "Technically, I should be going back to school. But I can take an hour or two to take you home." The teen said.

If he had the energy, Kaiba would have turned his head to give his little brother a curious look. Mokuba had been in charge of Kaiba Corp. for barely over a week. Only a few days ago the poor kid was close to a burn-out and now he wanted him to believe he was actually going to school? He had barely been able to handle school and work and he couldn't believe Mokuba was already able to.

As if sensing his brother's skepticism, Mokuba chuckled. "Alright, you're right. I don't have time to go to school and I only made an act of presence yesterday."

"Then why bother transferring at all?" Kaiba asked.

"So I'll have a school to go to when you take back Kaiba Corp." Mokuba explained.

"We're going back to Japan after this." Kaiba said, even though deep down he knew he didn't want to, all his instincts were screaming at him he had to leave, that all this was nothing but a big mistake.

"_I _am not going anywhere. Then I guess I'm going to miss you." Kaiba opened one eye to look at his brother and found the teen grinning at him. Kaiba was perfectly aware that his little brother was simply giving him an excuse to stay here, he only had to shut up, take it, and pretend that it didn't have anything to do with Anzu. The grin on his brother's face disappeared and he suddenly became serious. "I also think you should tell _Kaiba_ to shut the hell up and do whatever _Seto_ wants."

Kaiba chuckled lightly at Mokuba's choice of word as he put a hand on his brother's head and messed his hair. As quickly as that, Mokuba was back to being the hyperactive cunning little demon of happiness Kaiba knew and loved. His little brother's smile and easygoing demeanor often made Kaiba forget that his brother also had his share of suffering and was a lot more mature than he usually let on. Kaiba knew that everything Mokuba did, no matter how weird, childish or immature it may seem, was a calculated move with a precise purpose. As he closed back his eyes, he couldn't help but ponder on Mokuba's words and it brought him back to another question Anzu had asked him. What was is that he wanted?

* * *

Kaiba woke up with a start, his breathing was fast and sweat pearled on his forehead. When he raised his hand to wipe his forehead, he realized his hand was shaking. He felt scared, helpless panicked, he closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing and calm down. He figured he must have had a dream, or rather, a nightmare, but he couldn't remember what it was. After a few minutes, he managed to calm himself down, but his hands wouldn't stop shaking and he couldn't shake away a strange feeling of dread.

He turned his head to look at the clock on his nightstand. It was six thirty, he had slept for most of the day. Slowly, he rose from his bed, silently cursing his weakened state. The pain was nothing like it had been before, but it still wore him down quickly and slowed him down. Slowly, he picked out clean clothes from his drawers and made his way to his bathroom. Only that little effort was making him dizzy but he kept on going. He felt dirty, he had not taken a shower in over a week and he could still smell the scent of the hospital lingering on him. Showering would make him feel better and then he could rest properly.

Kaiba sighed in satisfaction as he stepped inside the shower and felt the water run down his body, dragging with it a week worth of smut and worries. The former CEO tried to concentrate on the feeling of the water and clear his mind. For the past week, he had had nothing to keep his mind occupied, which left him alone all days long with his inner demons and the pain of his injuries. But despite his best efforts, there was one thought that wouldn't leave his mind, a little voice telling him to do what he wanted. He closed his eyes, all his life he had always pushed aside his needs and desires, whatever he did, he did it to please his adoptive father, to better the company or for Mokuba's well-being. He had ignored his wishes for so long he didn't even know what they were anymore.

A pair of caring blue eyes and the remnant feeling of lips against his came to his mind. As quickly as it came, Kaiba tried to push it back. It had been a mistake, he should have let Anzu leave, he shouldn't have held her back or kissed her. Yet, he couldn't stop thinking about her, her eyes, her smile...he felt good whenever she was around. Everything in his was screaming at his to get away from her...yet, he couldn't bear the thought of not seeing her...

* * *

Anzu sighed as she slowly cleaned the floor of the Café while Rylan was cleaning the tables. The day had been long and horrible, not that she had been expecting any better. However, now that school had started again, Anzu had the right to twice as much hating as before. Her uncertainty about the previous day had also been on her mind all day long. She was apprehensive of her next meeting with Kaiba. It was bound to be awkward, he might have no problem pretending nothing happened but she knew she couldn't. She had tried, for weeks, to ignore the growing feelings she had for the former CEO. Now that she had acted on them, even though she hadn't meant to, she couldn't just pretend anymore.

And he had kissed her back! He pulled her back to him and kissed her! That had to mean something, right? He wouldn't have done it if he didn't have at least some feelings hidden somewhere in his twisted mind. Anzu shocked her head to get all the thoughts out. God she hated romance stories, they were always so complicated and stressful. Of all the guys on the planet, it had to be _him_.

She sighed as she looked at the clock. Roland had told her that Kaiba had left the hospital and was resting in some house they had. But it would still take a good 20 to 30 minutes to get there, then she had to get back home and there was school tomorrow. Of course that was a convenient excuse, but she felt that if she went there, Kaiba might think she was being clingy or something.

"Don't you get bored?" Anzu asked Roland as he got up from his seat, after all the cleaning was done. The poor bodyguard had spent the entire week sitting in a corner as she worked. She didn't mind him being here, actually it made her feel that much safer, but she couldn't help but feel bad for the poor guy.

The bodyguard smiled. "Don't feel too bad for me, I do get paid a monstrous amount for my services."

Anzu frowned. "That's so not making me feel better."

"I'm afraid being a bodyguard is not as exciting as most people would think. Quite the opposite actually. Personally I prefer when it is quite dull, I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt and I do wish to meet my future grandchildren and see them grow up. Anzu smiled as Roland stepped in front of her to walk out first, to make sure there were no bad surprises outside. She often found herself forgetting that Roland actually was a human being with a wife and kids. The older man opened the door and was about to make a step outside when he suddenly froze. At first, Anzu tensed, worried that something was wrong. "Mr. Kaiba." Roland said in greeting and walked outside.

Anzu let out the breath she hadn't even noticed she was holding and a smile appeared on her face. But as she followed her bodyguard outside, she was startled to see Seto, and not Mokuba, in front of her. Kaiba was leaning against the side of the limo, a smirk appeared on his face at her reaction. On the first glance, he looked like the confident CEO she knew, but upon closer inspection she noticed how he was leaning more against the car, his slumped shoulder and pale face.

"Shouldn't you be home?" The bodyguard asked him.

"Shouldn't you mind your own business?" Kaiba answered him with a glare. The two men stared at each other for a few seconds until Roland turned his head and opened the door for them.

"What are you doing here?" Anzu asked as she walked up to him.

Kaiba stopped glaring at his bodyguard and looked down at her, his features quickly becoming softer as he looked at her, there might even have been a ghost of a smile. "What do you think? I'm taking you home safely."

Anzu smiled up at him before she entered the limo. She could have questioned him further but she knew it was pointless, beside, with Kaiba, actions spoke much more than words. Still, she tried not to get her hopes up. He had wanted to see her, but she still had no idea if it was a good or bad thing. Kaiba followed her inside and Roland closed the door behind him, leaving them alone. The first minute of the ride was silent, yet Anzu knew it wouldn't even take ten minutes to reach her house so if she wanted answers, she had to talk...

"Should you even be here?" She asked Kaiba, who was tiredly slumped on his seat with his eyes closed as if he was trying to sleep.

He chuckled lightly at her question. "Probably not."

Anzu sighed. "You look terrible." She said, sitting closer to get a better look at him. "You shouldn't have come."

"I wanted to see you." Kaiba said, turning his head to look at her. "What happened yesterday..."

Anzu sighed, seeing where this was heading. "was a mistake." She finished for him, looking down. "And we should forg-" Kaiba's lips against hers interrupted her once again. That had been the last thing Anzu had expected, she had wanted it, but she hadn't dare hope it would happen and it stunned her.

"You talk too much." Kaiba said against her lips before quickly resuming what he had started, any hesitation or second thought Anzu might have vanished instantly. It was nothing like their first kiss, all shyness and hesitation was gone. Kaiba was being fierce and demanding yet Anzu could not even begin to think about denying him anything as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. Anzu heard herself moan softly as he worked expertly on her.

Still, she forced herself to push herself away from him before he managed to wipe out any intelligent thought from her head. "Are you sure about this?" She asked, panting, looking down at Kaiba, her face hovering mere millimeters above his. She searched his eyes for the answer and noticed that he had never looked so alive before.

Kaiba stared up at her, panting even more than her as her considered her words. She had been right, he had wanted to say that it had all been a mistake. But as soon as he saw her, he hadn't been able to say it and now _this._ He had no idea what he was doing, but he knew he wasn't ready for it to stop. "...No." He answered honestly, pulling her back down to him before she could say more.

* * *

Demon of happiness, lolll. That's really all I have to say. that and: Kaiba in the shower, mmmmmm


	32. Night fright

Chapter 32: Night fright.

Anzu sighed as she saw the empty street when she walked out the the Café. Lately her life had been an endless roller coaster and she couldn't yet see the end of it. Between work at the Café, school, stupid fangirls everywhere and dating Seto Kaiba, Anzu was totally drained. Her spring break had not been much of a vacation either, with Kaiba almost dying. Unsurprisingly, dating the still former CEO was the major cause of her exhaustion.

It had been three weeks since they had started more or less seeing each other. Kaiba came to pick her up after work everyday, as he had done before he had been shot but other than that, they hadn't spend much time together. The end of the school year was only two months away, between school, work and practice for the final recital, she barely had any time for him. However, Anzu quickly noticed that something was wrong with the former CEO.

It quickly became clear to her that despite the three weeks, Seto was still unsure of the situation. Each day Anzu had no idea what to expect from him, the guy had more mood swings than an hormonal teenage girl before her periods. One day they'd simply hold hands, the next he'd hold and kiss her gently, other days he wouldn't even touch her, sometimes he wouldn't even say a word. One time, he didn't show up for two days straight, then on the third day, he'd held her and kissed as if he hadn't seen her in months.

And unfortunately for Anzu, she was absolutely unable to decipher what was going on in his crazy head. Kaiba wouldn't confide in her, whenever she asked him what was going on, he'd either snap at her or interrupt her with kisses, depending on his mood. She had went to see Mokuba about all this. She knew the teen knew what was wrong in the head of his brother, however he turned out to be of little help. He'd simply shrugged and told her his brother just needed time. But she had seen in Mokuba's eyes that he was more worried than he wanted her to know. Roland too, she noticed, sometimes looked at Kaiba with a worried look in his eyes.

Over the past three weeks, Kaiba had slowly gained more energy as he recovered from his injuries. However, Anzu noticed that he was starting to have dark circles under his eyes, like he wasn't sleeping well. She also thought he should to be recovering much faster than he actually was. He looked drained and was always on edge. He also hadn't yet started to gain back the weight he had lost while he was in the hospital, actually, he was still losing weight.

The situation was getting worst with each passing days. Two days ago, Anzu finally found the courage to share her worries with Kaiba. The former CEO was quick to dissipate any thought she had concerning his well being. Anzu was almost ashamed of how easily he had succeeded in distracting her. But the next day, he didn't pick her up. At first she wasn't too worried, it wasn't the first time he skipped without any reason. However, when he didn't show up the next day, it started pissing her off.

When she opened the door of the limo on the third day, Anzu wasn't surprised to see Kaiba wasn't there. She didn't understand Kaiba's reaction. She just told him she was worried for him and he just disappears. For the past three weeks she did everything she could to bend to Kaiba's moods and right now she had enough. She had had a bad day, technically because of him, and now he wouldn't even show up. She turned to look at Roland. "Take me wherever the hell that idiot is hiding." She said before getting in.

* * *

After Anzu had asked to see Kaiba, Roland had given the instruction on the driver, he also gave words to the house-guards to let her in without any trouble. He himself had other obligations and couldn't go with her. Instead, he made his way to the Kaiba Corp building to speak with the youngest Kaiba. After knocking, he opened the door of Mokuba's office to find the teen staring at his computer. However he seemed too deep in thoughts to actually be productive in any way. "He didn't show up today either."

Mokuba sighed and laid back against his chair. He too had been suffering from his brother's weird mood. Usually he was really good at understanding the twisted logic behind his brother's behavior. But right now, there was no logic, something was wrong with his brother and he was worried. He had noticed, even before Anzu came to talk to him about it, that his brother was acting oddly. He had thought that he'd had trouble making his brother rest, that he would have come back to Kaiba Corp long ago, but Kaiba showed no interest whatsoever in what was happening at Kaiba Corp. He wasn't really doing anything with his times either, but he looked more and more tired every passing day. Even though his injuries were fully healed, Kaiba had barely recovered any.

When Mokuba started keeping a closer watch on his brother, he quickly noticed that his brother was barely eating anything, he was always stressed and on edge. He was also having nightmares, lots of them. Mokuba had no idea what they were about, Kaiba had denied having them and wouldn't talk about it.

"How did Anzu take it?" Mokuba asked.

"She went to see him." Roland answered.

Mokuba nodded. He knew Anzu wouldn't take crap from his brother for long, and he sure counted on her to slap some sense into him. He knew the two of them were some kind of unofficial couple and he could see how the situation was tearing his brother between his fears and and desires. He had been expecting his brother to be troubled, but nothing like that. He was starting to fear he had greatly underestimated the extend of his brother's childhood traumas.

"Roland." The teenager said after a few moments of silence. "Assign someone else to watch Anzu. I wan't you to keep an eye on Seto."

"Sir?" The bodyguard asked, unsure of the sudden order.

"There as been no real threats against Anzu since Miria is gone. I'm more worried about Seto..." Mokuba answered. "You were with Seto back then...you saw what that _monster_ did to him. I'm not stupid, I know there are lots of things I don't, and will never, know about. I can't do anything...you understand Seto more than I do on this. Make sure he's ok."

* * *

Anzu could not believe her eyes when she looked at the house/mansion Kaiba was staying in. She didn't even know there were houses like that in New-York. Hesitantly, she followed one of the servants inside the mansion. It was smaller and less furnished than the one in Japan but it was still ridiculous, especially considering that Kaiba had probably never even set foot in it before three weeks ago. The little maid, a girl probably the same age as Anzu, brought her up to the first floor and to a long hallway.

"Mr. Kaiba's room is the third door on the right." She said with a gently smile before leaving her alone.

Anzu took a deep breath before making it to the door. She had been sure of herself when she asked Roland to take her here, but now, she had no idea what she was going to say. Finally, she found the courage to knock on the door. Less than 20 seconds later, the door opened to reveal Kaiba. Anzu blushed instantly and all her words stuck in her throat, she couldn't help but stare at Kaiba, who wasn't wearing a shirt at the moment, his hair was also still damp, she realized he had probably just taken a shower.

Kaiba frowned when he saw her. "What do you want?" He said.

His tone of voice brought Anzu back to reality and she frowned back at him. "You're avoiding me, _again._" Anzu accused him.

"I've been busy." Kaiba answered, turning around and going back inside his room, toward his dresser, to get a shirt.

Anzu followed him in, ready to snap back at him, but her words died on her lips as she saw his back. She had never seen them before, the scars he got from saving her life. She couldn't bring herself to be mad at him anymore. That man had put himself between her and a gun without any second doubts. So he sucked at being a boyfriend and was terrified at the idea of trusting her, but she couldn't doubt his feelings for her. "I was worried." Anzu said as she sat down on his bed.

"I'm fine." Kaiba answered.

"No you're not!" Anzu replied, glaring up at him. "It's ok, if you don't want to tell me what's on your mind. I won't force you." Anzu said, looking down. "You don't have to lie to me...just say you don't want to talk."

When Kaiba didn't answer, she looked up at him. He had found a shirt and was looked back at her, he looked uncertain of what he wanted to do.

"I'll go, if you don't want to see me." Anzu said, looking down. Kaiba didn't answer, but she felt the bed shift as he sat down next to her. Gently, he grabbed her chin with his hand and pulled her head up to look at him.

Slowly, he lowered his head to kiss her. Anzu could feel the hesitation in Kaiba's actions but after a few moments, all the hesitation was gone and Kaiba suddenly deepened the kiss. When they broke up, Kaiba rested his forehead against her, staring into her eyes as he gently caressed her cheek. "Look at what you do to me." He said, before kissing her once again.

* * *

Anzu woke up in a dark room, disoriented, she looked at the clock on the nightstand, it said 2:14 am. She then realized this was not her clock. The moon, through the still open curtain, allowed her enough light to see the room she was in. This was Kaiba's room. She turned her head and saw Kaiba sleeping next to her. She smiled, guessing that they had both fallen asleep while cuddling. Feeling a little cold, since they were both sleeping on the covers, she grabbed the corner of the blanket and folded it over herself as she turned around to sleep against Kaiba. She rested her head against his chest and let the steady sound of his beating heart lull her to sleep.

Just as she started falling asleep, the absentmindedly noticed that Kaiba's heartbeat was speeding up. Suddenly her 'pillow' moved as Kaiba tossed lightly in his sleep. Anzu frowned as she pushed herself up on her hand and knees. Kaiba was breathing faster than he had only a moment ago and his face was tense. She raised her hand to caress the side of his face and called his name softly. However, the moment she touched him, his eyes opened and before she could process what was happening, she found herself pinned down on her back under Kaiba, his hand around her throat.

"Seto? Wha-" Her words got stuck in her throat as Kaiba tightened his grip. "S-stop. You're hurting me." She said weakly as Kaiba slowly increased the pressure on her neck until she could barely breath. When she looked at his eyes, that's when she started to panic. They were so dark, uncaring and...wrong. Anzu tried to push him back and break free but Kaiba effortlessly held her down simply with his weight and tightened his grip so much that Anzu couldn't even breath anymore.

That's when she realized, he was killing her. She tried to scream for help but with her windpipe completely closed off, she couldn't utter a sound. She tried with all her strength to get him off or her; tossing, clawing, anything, but she had no more success than the first time. There was no way she could overpower him and her forces were quickly leaving her. In desperation, she tried to grab something from the nightstand to hit him but she only managed to knock off the lamp and send it crashing on the floor.

She desperately tried one last time to loosen his grip, but by now she was so weak she could barely even move. Tears filled her eyes and her vision started to falter. She looked up at Kaiba, trying to plead with her eyes. Kaiba smiled down at her, a smile so demented and sadistic, it froze Anzu's blood in her veins.

* * *

Omg what is going on?


	33. Ghost of the past

Chapter 33: Ghost of the past.

Mokuba sighed as he closed the door of the mansion behind him. It had been a long and unproductive day, the matter of his brother had been too much on his mind for him to concentrate over anything else. Roland had tried to ease his worry, however the bodyguard wouldn't betray what little trust Seto had in him and therefore wouldn't answer any of Mokuba's questions. That had annoyed the teen even more. Seto was his brother, he should be able to help him.

The teen was completely drained, it had taken him so much time to do his work, even with Rachel's help. As he removed his shoes, he noticed something, there was another pair of shoes next to the door. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were Anzu's. He grinned. So she was still here, past two in the morning. That was something. He was _so_ going to have fun tomorrow morning. Still grinning, Mokuba made his way up the stairs and into his room. But just as he was about to close his door, he heard something weird. It sounded like something breaking.

Mokuba frowned as he looked further down the hallway, toward his brother's room, where the noise had come from. However, he couldn't hear anything else. He tried to shrug it off and turned back to his room. Anzu was there after all and there were _some _things about his brother he didn't feel the need to know more about than he needed to. However he couldn't ignore the dreading feeling he had that something was wrong. In the end, he decided to go check it out, if only so he could sleep in peace. He stopped in front of his brother's door and listened. Nothing. Calling himself stupid, Mokuba slowly turned the doorknob and opened the door a little to take a peek.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. For a second he stood there, completely frozen, watching as his brother was holding Anzu down and strangling her, completely unable to process what he was seeing. Then, Mokuba snapped out of his stupor and moved. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he had to stop it. He pushed the door open and ran to the bed. Without thinking, he just jumped on the bed and tackled his brother. Sending both of them crashing to the ground.

As soon as the pressure on her windpipe was removed, Anzu doubled over and started coughing, struggling to take in small breathes between each cough. With tears in her eyes and still struggling to breath, Anzu looked down from the bed. Where the two brothers had fallen.

"Seto! Stop it!" The teen called out, trying his best to hold his brother down. However, Kaiba was clearly stronger and more experienced, in a matter of seconds, he managed to overpower his little brother. Mokuba was just so confused, he couldn't understand why his brother was doing that. He could only watch helplessly as his brother easily switched their position and pinned him to the ground. Kaiba paused for a moment, he stared down at his brother and tilted his head to one side, as if thinking about something.

Suddenly, Mokuba could see a spark of recognition in his brother's eyes. However, he couldn't tell, with his brother's current state, if it was a good thing or not. Kaiba's look suddenly changed, his features twisted with rage as he raised a hand. However, before he could land a hit, someone grabbed a hold of his arm and swiftly pulled Kaiba off his brother before pinning him on the ground.

"Mokuba, take Anzu and go." Roland told Mokuba while struggling to hold Kaiba down. Although still chocked by the situation, the teen tried to protest. He was reluctant to leave his brother alone. However, Roland cut him off. "You asked me yourself to take care of him. Trust me." Despite the situation, the bodyguard was still calm and composed. Mokuba could see the man had a much better understanding of the situation than him. Although he was still worried, he decided to trust Roland knew what he was doing.

He stood up and quickly went back to the bed, where Anzu was still catching her breath. "Anzu? Come on." He said, gently taking her by the shoulder and leading her off the bed and on her feet. She was still too much in choc to protest in any way. Quickly, Mokuba led her out of the bedroom. All the noise had attracted a lot of the staff around, both maids and other bodyguard, who all seemed unsure about what was going on and what they should do. "Get lost." Mokuba snapped. "All of you." He quickly closed the door behind him to make his point. Right now he didn't think any of them could really do anything. Beside, the less people knew about the situation, the better. He didn't want to think of the repercussions if words of what had happened got out. People hesitated, especially the guards, who were clearly wondering if they should intervene or not. "NOW!" Mokuba shouted when he saw they weren't moving. That got them moving and they left, sending worried glance over their shoulder.

When he was satisfied, Mokuba gently led Anzu to his room. He closed the door behind him to make sure no indiscreet ear would ear them. Mokuba had her sit down on his bed and knelt in front of her. He gently raised his hand to her face to make her look at him. Her breathing was still erratic, more out of fear and choc than anything else, she was also crying and her entire body was shaking. "Are you hurt?" Anzu opened her mouth wasn't able to make herself talk, she was still too shaken. She weakly shook her head instead.

Mokuba sighed in relief. He sat down next to her on the bed and pulled her closer in a tight hug. There wasn't anything he could think to say that would make her feel better. Beside, he wasn't exactly looking forward to the questions he knew she would inevitably ask. So he just stayed there and offered what little comfort her could until she felt good enough to talk.

Eventually, her breathing evened out and she managed to stop crying, but she couldn't stop shaking. Kaiba's smile wouldn't leave her mind. She couldn't understand what had happened or why. He had looked like a totally different person, and he hadn't seem to care about her at all. What had she done wrong? "Why?" She finally dared to ask. "What did I do?"

"It's not your fault..." Mokuba answered. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Anzu pushed herself away from him to look at the teen. "Then...what...what happened?" She asked more strongly. Her fear quickly leaving place to anger. Kaiba had tried to _kill_ her, she had the right to know why.

Mokuba sighed before standing up. He paced a little in the room, trying to find a way to put what happened into words. He was also frustrated about the whole situation. He hadn't really been expecting that, he was also mad at himself for letting it happen, as well as both mad at, and worried for his brother. Finally, he sat down on the couch, a few feet away from Anzu. "I'm really sorry." He began. "I didn't think something like this would happen...not like that. I wouldn't have let you anywhere near Seto if I had known." He said.

"I don't think I'm the best person to tell you." He kept going, not looking at her. "Only Roland and Seto know the whole of it and neither of them ever spoke to me about it. All I know are things I overheard or guessed over time. Honestly, I doubt I know even half of it." Mokuba paused and looked at Anzu.

Anzu thought about it for a moment before asking him to tell her anyway. She couldn't believe that Kaiba would actually so something like that to her. She needed answers and she know Mokuba was probably the only one who would answer her questions.

Mokuba paused, trying to decide on where to begin.

"Seto...used to be a very nice person, he'd smile all the time, always comforted me, he used to laugh. It all changed after we were adopted. At the time, I didn't know what was going on...or maybe I just didn't want to see it, I'm not sure anymore. They wouldn't let me see Seto much. The only times I could see him were when I sneaked in his room at night. I noticed, as time passed, that he started smiling less, his laughs sounded more and more forced, he was always tired and sometimes even in pain.

It lasted two years. I have no idea exactly what Gozaburo did to him. Seto never talked about it, not back then and not now either. I can only guess at everything he had to go through. Seto always put on a strong face in front of me, he always hid his suffering and I was a kid way too happy to ignore it all...I had no idea how bad it was, until...Seto almost died." Mokuba's hand closed into tight fists at the memory. "I guess Gozaburo had had a bad day, or Seto said something he didn't like.

When Seto came back from the hospital, he was different. He was so cold...he wasn't mean of anything, more like...all his emotions had died. He would not react to anything, wouldn't smile, wouldn't get mad, wouldn't show any kind of interest in anything... Whenever I saw him, he wouldn't even bother to look at me. He wouldn't even force himself to smile anymore...he didn't even look sad anymore either. He was just empty...That's when it started." Mokuba said.

"He started having troubles sleeping, then it turned into nightmares. I think that all the feelings Seto was pushing down back then, his fear, rage, everything, was coming back to him whenever he slept. They became more frequent and worst with the time. Then, one time, when a maid tried to wake him up, he attacked her. I heard there were a few other minor accidents as well." Mokuba said.

Anzu frowned. "So you're saying..."

"Seto has been under a lot of stress lately. You have no idea how hard it is for him to trust someone after everything that happened to him. Gozaburo practically brainwashed him in that sense. Adding everything that happened lately. I guess it was just too much for him... He had been having nightmares lately. I'm sure he was in an entire different time and place when he attacked you. It wasn't you he was seeing."

Mokuba still couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Seto cares about you and never meant to hurt you, I know it. If anything, please don't hold it against him, he's probably going to guilt himself enough as it is."

Anzu looked down at her hands, she noticed for the first time that there was a little blood on them. Probably Kaiba's blood from when she tried to make him let go of her. Could he had really been only dreaming? She frowned, thinking back about the look in his eyes. He knew what he was doing, maybe not to her, but to someone else. And he had seemed to enjoy it. She was also certain he had known it was Mokuba before Roland stopped him. Mokuba knew as well that Kaiba had recognized him, she knew it. It was way more than just a dream and Mokuba was trying to hide things from her. That's when she realized, that look Kaiba had, it was familiar. It wasn't the first time she saw those eyes and that smile.

"Mokuba...what happened after." She asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked, giving her a shy look.

Anzu frowned. "Those were more than just nightmares, right?" She asked. "It didn't stop there, it got worst didn't it?" She remembered, the when she had first met Kaiba. Although he had been acting all nice, there had been something a little off about him. Quickly enough, he proved to be more than just a _little_ off. He was completely crazy, uncontrollable and dangerous. He had tried to kill them all and enjoyed every minute of it.

Mokuba smiled bitterly, he had been hoping she wouldn't ask any more, because he was almost as lost as her on the matter. "No, it got worst. Seto started to have weird episodes every few days or so. At first he'd space out for long minutes, then he started saying and doing things out of place, he'd just break things for no reason, pick fights with the guards, stuff like that. After Gozaburo died, Seto just turned the way he was when you first met him. I really have no idea what was wrong with him. I...never asked him about it." Mokuba admitted. "He wouldn't have told me, anyway."

"You think he'll become like that again?" Anzu asked.

"I don't know." Mokuba answered. "I really don't." Tears started forming in his eyes. "I don't know what's going on anymore and I don't know what to do about it."

Anzu softened as she saw Mokuba break down. It was so easy to rely on him and forget that he was only a teenager. Way to young for any of this. She quickly went to sit next to him and pull him close, although she knew there was nothing she could do or say that would make him feel better.


	34. Sequels

I haven't really been in the best of moods lately, and god was this chapter hard to write. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't get it right.

Chapter 34: Sequels

After calling a limo for Anzu and seeing her off safely to her own apartment, Mokuba went back to check on Roland and his brother. His apprehensions growing stronger with each step he took toward the room. However, as worried as he was for his brother, he was also afraid of what he would find. He hadn't seen that look in his brother's eyes in years and it scared him. If Roland hadn't arrived when he did, Seto would have hurt him, he knew it. He didn't want to admit it, but right now, he was afraid of him.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to find his brother on his bed, apparently sleeping peacefully despite what had happened.

"I had to knock him out." Roland explained calmly. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."

Mokuba entered the room and closed the door. He looked down at the bodyguard sitting on the coach and frowned. "What was that?" The teen demanded.

"Nothing you need to worry about." Roland said.

"_Nothing?_" The teen snapped. "He tried to _kill_ Anzu!" Mokuba snapped, omitting the part about trying to hurt him, he preferred not to think about it.

Roland sighed. "And it has nothing to do with you." He answered as he stood up to face the angry teen. "I know you are worried, but there are a lot of things you don't know about and it's not my place to tell you. Your brother endured a lot so you'd never know about such things, so you could be happy and innocent. If you were to find out, everything he went through will become meaningless... don't do that to him. It's the only thing he has to keep him going."

"So you want me to pretend everything is alright and let him suffer alone in silence?" Mokuba yelled at him, glaring up at the older man.

"Yes. You can't help him, Mokuba. He won't let you. I know it's hard for you, but please let it go...For now at least."

Mokuba stood there for a moment, glaring at the body guard, if looks could kill the older man would have died a dozen times before even falling on the ground. However, Mokuba had no choice but to give in, he knew that Roland's loyalty stood with Seto before him and there was nothing he could do to change that. He turned around and left, loudly banging the door behind him. He went back to his room, slamming the door as well. He paced back and forth in his room in frustration. He knew something was really wrong with his brother and being cast aside like that was killing him. He was angry, at his brother, at Roland, at his step dad and most of all at himself for being so useless. Eventually, he couldn't keep it in anymore, tears started falling from his eyes. But that only made him feel worst about himself for being so weak.

"I never wanted this." He told himself as he stopped his pacing and let himself slide down against his door. Tears falling freely from his eyes. "I just wanted to stay with him." He thought back to the days at the orphanage. Wishing he had a way to change everything.

* * *

As soon as he woke up, before he even had the time to open his eyes, he knew there was something wrong. He was feeling strangely weird and sis head was killing him. Groaning a little, he raised his hand to his forehead. Wondering for a moment what was going on. He remembered a pissed off Anzu showing up at his door. He opened his eyes and looked next to him, but she wasn't there. However, he frowned as he noticed he had marks on his forearm. "What the-" He sat up, but his frown only deepened when he saw Roland. "What are you doing here?"

Roland returned the frown, he clearly wasn't in the mood to take any crap. "Making sure you don't go walking around trying to kill people."

Kaiba glared at the tone of his bodyguard, it wasn't in Roland's habit to talk back to him and it took him off guard. Until the words he said sank in Kaiba's mind. "What?" He looked back down at his arms and realized those where nails marks. Then he looked at the empty spot beside him, where Anzu should have been. "What happened." He asked, his apprehension raising quickly.

"You almost killed her." Roland answered bluntly.

Shocked, Kaiba couldn't take his eyes away from the marks on his skin as images of what happened flashed in his mind. "Where is she?"

"Mokuba had her taken home a few hours ago. She'll be fine, at least physically." Roland explained as he stood up and walked to the bed, he grabbed Kaiba's hand and gave him something.

Kaiba frowned as he saw the two pills Roland gave him and threw them on the floor. "I don't need those." He said as he got out of bed and started to quickly straighten himself, trying his best to ignore Roland's gaze.

Roland sighed. "If Mokuba hadn't arrived when he did Anzu would be dead. You can't go on like this, you know it's only going to get worse. Do you really want a repeat of last time?"

Kaiba stiffened and paused for half a second but he simply continued as if he hadn't heard the comment. Once he was satisfied that there were no visible mark from last night, he tried to walk out the door. However, Roland blocked his way. "Seto, you can't just continue to pretend nothing of this happened. You need help."

"No." Kaiba cut him off. "I needed help ten years ago." He said bitterly before pushing the older man out of his way and walking out of the room.

Kaiba's answer took Roland by surprise. In all the years he had known Kaiba, it was the first time the ex CEO ever so much as hinted about the past. He wasn't sure exactly what to think of it. He sighed as he picked up the pills Kaiba had thrown on the ground and followed him outside to make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid.

* * *

All day long, Mokuba hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. He couldn't stop worrying about his brother. He was also really mad at Roland for refusing to tell him what was going on and he wasn't sure what to do. Roland wouldn't talk, Seto wouldn't want to talk either and he wasn't sure he wanted to go back home. What was the use anyway? At eight, Mokuba decided to call it a day, he barely managed to do anything and clearly staying later wouldn't chance anything. However, he still found himself with no idea what to do. He didn't really want to go home, but he didn't feel like staying alone either. He wandered aimlessly for a while, trying to decide on what to do, until he raised his eyes and saw the sign on the café Anzu worked at.

He quickly walked over and entered the small shop. He had hoped to see Anzu, but instead it was Rylan who looked up when he opened the door. "Hey, you're Mokuba, right?" He asked with a welcoming smile.

"Hi." Mokuba answered, forcing a smile. "Is Anzu here?"

Rylan frowned. "No, she called in sick." He explained. "She sounded really down, did something happened with your brother?"

"...Sorta." Mokuba answered uneasily.

"Well, she should be home. You planning to go and see her?"

Mokuba nodded slightly. "Thanks, I'll see you later." He said before leaving.

Mokuba quickly made it to Anzu's apartment, but when he got there, he got a way colder greeting than at the café. "What do you want?" Matt asked, frowning.

The teen frowned back. "I'm here to see Anzu."

"No." Matt answered. He tried to close the door in Mokuba's face but the teen was faster and stopped him.

"What the hell is your problem?" Mokuba asked.

Matt only glared at him. "I don't know what you guys did to her." He said. "But Anzu came back from your place at three in the morning, locked herself in her room and won't come out. I think you guys hurt her enough as it is. She never should have gotten anywhere close to your deranged brother."

Mokuba gritted his teeth, even now, he couldn't stand people badmouthing his brother after everything he went through. "Don't talk about what you don't know." He said dangerously, pushing Matt out of his way and walking inside. He ignored his protest and made his way directly to Anzu's room. He knocked softly on the door, calling out to her. "Anzu, it's me. Open the door, please." After a few moments of silence, he added. "Anzu, I know you're there, don't make me force the door."

After a few more seconds of silence, Mokuba heard the faint sound of the door unlocking. He turned around to give one last glare to Matt before walking in. He made sure to lock the door behind him, he didn't want any interference from her roommates. The room was dark but Mokuba could faintly see Anzu sitting on her bed. "You shouldn't stay alone in the dark like that." He said as he turned on the light. "How are you?" He asked, setting the box on her dresser before going to sit on the bed.

"I'm fine." She obviously lied, looking up at him. However she looked and sounded anything but fine. She had dark circle under her eyes, doubtless she had barely slept at all during the day. Her eyes looked like those of a deer in the headlight of a car, she was stiff and on edge. Clearly she was still shaken by what had happened the previous night. She was wearing a scarf around her neck, but unfortunately it was doing little to hide the bluish marks on her delicate neck.

Mokuba gently tilted her head up and pulled down on the scarf to get a better view. Anzu flinched a little when he brushed the tender skin. "Sorry." The teen apologized immediately. He frowned as he inspected her neck. The marks of Kaiba's finger around her throat were unmistakable, it was no wonder she wouldn't leave her room. There was no way she could get out without people freaking out. "Are you sure you are ok?" He asked again.

Anzu looked down. "...I couldn't sleep. I keep having nightmares. My hands won't stop shaking and every time I close my eyes I see his eyes." Gently, Mokuba pulled her closer and just held her. After a few moments, Anzu started crying. Mokuba kept comforting her until she felt finally stopped. Even then, neither of them moved an inch, they both remained silent for a long while. Until Anzu broke the silence. "Thank you." She said hesitantly. "For saving me, and being here."

"It's nothing." The teenager answered. "I'm sorry for what happened."

"It's ok." Anzu said. "It's not your fault...How's Seto?" She asked, hesitantly.

Mokuba shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seem him since." He said. "Roland is taking care of him. He said there was nothing I could do anyway." They fell into silence again for a moment, but this time, it was Mokuba who broke it.

"I don't think you should get close to Seto anymore." He said.

Anzu looked at him, surprised, but at the same time, she had spent a lot of time today wondering what to do next.

"I care a lot about him." Mokuba continued. "I really wish it could have worked. He really needs to open up. But...he could have killed you. He's dangerous, Anzu, and I don't want you to get hurt again. I know you like him and it's in your heart to help everyone around you. But... he's not your responsibility."

"What about you?" Anzu asked.

Mokuba smiled sadly. "He's my brother. I have to take care of him. But there's no reason for you to be dragged into his hell." He said. "I should go see him...Do you want me to take you somewhere? You could stay at Kaiba Corp for a while, if you want to."

Anzu smiled. "Thanks, but I'll stay here."

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Anzu nodded. "If you need anything..." The teen said as he stood up. "No matter the time, call me. Ok?" Anzu nodded. "I'll come by again tomorrow to check on you, ok?" Mokuba said, giving her one last hug before leaving.

* * *

Ouf, that was one hell of a chapter to write, didn't really get as far as I had hoped, but it's late and you've waited long enough. I have surgery practice this week, then a party and then an exam, so I'm not sure I'll be able to update in the next two weeks, but we'll see.


	35. Goodbye

Chapter 35: Goodbye

After leaving Anzu, Mokuba made his way back home to try and talk with his brother, determined to have answers. He had enough of being kept in the dark about everything like he was still a little child. Both Seto and Roland always did everything they could to protect him. Although from his brother, Mokuba was unsure if it was so much to protect him or himself. Whenever Mokuba tried to talk about it, his brother would always change the subject or pretend nothing ever happened. That time, after his car accident, was the first time his brother ever admitted to something happening, it was also the first time he saw him cry since their father's death. But they never spoke about it again.

It was easy to forget but, back then, Seto had been a child as well. Way younger than Mokuba was today. Gozaburo had kept him completely isolated from everyone while he trained him. There is only so much a ten years old can take before breaking down. And his brother did break. He had no one to turn to, no one to help him, the only thing he _could_ do was bend to their stepfather's wishes. He had no choices but to forget his dreams, bottle up all his feelings.

Now, Gozaburo was gone. But he left Seto broken, completely unable to comprehend or express his own feelings. Unable to trust anyone or to open up. As far as Mokuba knew, his brother had never talked with anyone about what Gozaburo did to him. And now all pain his brother kept to himself through these years was slowly destroying him.

However, Mokuba couldn't deny that he had a part in it as well. In retrospect, everything was so blatantly obvious, but as a child, Mokuba had never given anything any second thought. He had happily believe anything anyone told him. Thinking back on everything, he had probably known all along. Yet he had turned a blind eye to it, like everyone else.

Although their house/mansion was notably smaller than the one in Japan, it still took Mokuba a little while to find in brother. He finally managed to find him in the library, sitting sideways in a sofa with a half full glass of alcohol. The only light in the room was coming from the fireplace. "What's with you all and staying alone in dark rooms." Mokuba said as he entered, remembering how he found Anzu in pretty much the same situation, minus the drinking part. He sat down on another sofa and looked at his brother, trying to get an overall feeling of his state of mind. He waited for a while, hoping his brother would speak first, but after a few minutes of being dutifully ignored he decided he had to push his brother a little if he wanted answers.

"What happened?" He asked, plainly.

"Nothing." Kaiba replied as casually as if Mokuba had asked what he had done today.

Mokuba snorted. "Really? Do you seriously expect to convince me with that?" When Kaiba didn't answer, the teen continued. "You were strangling her."

"That was nothing." Kaiba repeated more sternly, yet still not looking at his little brother.

"Then maybe you could tell that to Anzu! I'm sure it would make her feel better to hear that you didn't actually almost killed her!" Mokuba could see his brother tense at his last comment and decided to push before his brother could regain his composure. "Do you have any idea how much you've hurt her?"

"Mokuba, I don't want to talk about it." Kaiba answered. Mokuba could fell his brother's mood getting worst and his patience quickly dropping with each word he said. Yet he kept going. He couldn't let his brother just get away with it and go one with his life pretending the last 6 months never happened.

"This is not about that you want!" Mokuba replied. "It's about what you _need_!"

Kaiba's entired body tensed at Mokuba's choice of words, remembering what Roland had told him only the day before. He did not want _anyone's_ help, he never had any help before, why should he want it now. "I'm fine."

"Fine?" Mokuba repeated. "Trying to kill your girlfriend is NOT being fine, Seto. Actually I'm pretty sure it qualifies as being mentally deranged."

Those were not the best choice of words, Mokuba noted as he saw anger flash in his brother's eyes. "Leave." Kaiba said sternly, glaring at his little brother.

Mokuba had never thought his brother might hurt him on purpose, not until yesterday at least. Now, he wasn't so sure. He didn't want to think about what might have happened if Roland hadn't arrived when he did. He could tell his last comment had been overboard and decided to stand down...for now at least. Anyway he didn't think his brother would talk now. "I told Anzu she should stay away from you." Mokuba said as he stood up. He noticed how his brother's frown deepened slightly when he mentioned her. "Knowing her, she'll want to see you at least one last time." Mokuba said, he knew Anzu would at the very least want to ask him, if only to get a small sense of closure over the whole things. "She has no reason to put up with this, Seto. 'Nothing' will not be the answer if you don't want to lose her for good." Mokuba said before walking away. "You know where to find me, if you change your mind." He added before closing the door behind him.

* * *

Anzu sighed as she closed the door of the bathroom behind her. She took a deep breath, trying to fight back tears. She felt weak and ashamed of being this weak. She had always been a strong woman, she crossed half the world alone to follow her dreams. But now she was afraid of going outside. She was always on edge, she didn't feel safe anywhere, couldn't stand to stay in crowds. At her job, she would stutter whenever she was taking orders from costumers, her hands were shaking when she was preparing orders. She had almost fainted when a costumer had raised his voice to her. She would jump whenever someone touched her... It had been almost a week and she still couldn't get half a night of decent sleep.

Mokuba had came to see her everyday, checking out on her and just being here. He had proposed to help her in anything she needed but Anzu had turned him down. She was trying to put a strong front for the teen, he had enough on his mind, but she knew she wasn't that convincing. But she didn't want to impose on him. She know he had enough on his mind with the company and his brother. From what he had told her, his last attempt at talking with him hadn't been that successful, and since then the former CEO had been going out of his way to avoid him.

Once she had managed to calm herself, she quickly washed her face and fixed herself to be at least presentable. When she went back to the front she quickly made a hot chocolate for Mokuba before leaving. She felt bad for imposing so much on him, but there was no one else she could turn to. If she told anyone what had happened, that would put Kaiba in trouble... and she didn't want that. She didn't know what was going on, but she was certain that the last thing anyone needed was for everything to be on the media.

Quickly, she made her way to the Kaiba Corp building. She didn't feel safe walking outside alone. From what she knew, Roland was staying closer to Kaiba these days and apparently did not see fit to have someone follow her around 24/7 anymore. When she had inquired about it, Mokuba had simply said that the person responsible for trying to kill her had been found. Most paparazzi also had tired of following her around, her possible relationship with Kaiba was 'old news' now. Still, Mokuba had offered to assign someone else to watch over her, but she had refused. Right now, having someone she didn't know follow her around all the time would probably only freak her out more. (Although she did had a feeling Mokuba still had someone watching over her.)

Despite the late hour, she expected to find Mokuba in the Kaiba Corp building, the poor teenager had spent almost all his time there those last few weeks. When she entered the building, the security guard looked up at her from his newspaper and waved her through. "Mr. Kaiba should be in his office." He said, simply.

Anzu thanked him shyly before quickly walking to the elevator. All the way up, she couldn't stop fidgeting and pacing. When the door finally opened, she walked outside in the well lit hallway. She noted that the secretary's desk was empty, it wasn't that surprising considering the hour. The door of Kaiba's office was closed so she knocked softly and waited for an answer. When none came, she slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

The lights were on, but Mokuba was nowhere to be seen. She entered the office and closed the door behind her, it was possible that Mokuba had gone somewhere else in the building to get something or he was in the apartment on the top floor. She crossed the office and went to the door of the apartment but halfway there, she heard the door of the office opening. She turned around, but her breath caught in her throat and she froze on the spot, dropping the cup she had been holding.

When he heard the noise of something falling to the ground, Kaiba looked up from the file he had been reading. He stopped short upon seeing Anzu looking back at him. "What are you doing here?" He asked in a tone of voice that sounded accusing. When he saw Anzu flinch at his words, he sighed. He hadn't really meant to sound mean or angry, but he hadn't expected to find Anzu there and it had startled him. "Sorry." He said softly as he walked inside the office.

"Mokuba's sick." He explained, not looking at her, figuring she had most likely wanted to see his little brother. He could see that she was afraid of him and it hurt him more than he cared to admit. "You should go." He said, still not looking at her, after a few moments of awkward silence.

"That's it?" Anzu asked angrily. "After what happened, that's all you have to say?" She said, completely forgetting how she had been scared only a few seconds ago. She was tired, on hedge, stressed and he was just dismissing her like that?

Kaiba frowned as he looked at her. He hadn't really expected her to react that way...not that he had any idea what he was expecting. Ever since his brother tried to talk to him, he had done everything he could not to think about Anzu and what would happen the next time he saw her. Part of him had hoped his brother was wrong and she would never show up, that way he wouldn't have to make up his mind... "...What would you have me say? I'm sorry I almost killed you?" He asked, his tone of voice raising.

Anzu noticed Kaiba's temper going up, she had found out early that he was quick to anger when he was uncomfortable about anything in general. Despite herself, she could feel her fear creeping back. She had never feared for herself when talking to him before, no matter his temper Kaiba had always seemed in perfect control of himself. But now she wasn't so sure anymore, and even a slight raise of his voice was making her uneasy. "How about telling me why you almost killed me?"

Kaiba looked down, unable to stand looking at her. "...I can't." He said weakly.

Anzu sighed. "I haven't slept in nearly a week, I can hardly go out anymore, I'm afraid of everything...Seto...I care about you...I really do. I haven't pried in your past and accepted any and all of your flaws without questioning them. But _this_...I can't do this...If Mokuba hadn't..." She stopped, unable to say the words. "I'm scared of you." She finally said. "I don't trust you anymore... You won't trust me enough to tell me what's going on, how can you expect me to trust you blindly without knowing what's going on?"

When she got know answer from the former CEO, Anzu smiled sadly. "Well... I guess this is goodbye then." She said as she turned around to leave.

* * *

My god that one was a total bitch to write. I wrote the chapter, but it didn't fit right and I didn't like it so I wrote another one, but it didn't feel right either, so then I combined parts of the two of them to make a third one and then decided to completely change the end and go en entire different way than what I had wanted... Still. Sorry for the long wait, I have also been away for a month during the holidays.


	36. Darkness revealed

I really do not have anything to say actually. Mainly because I've been working on this chapter for half the day and I want to go to bed. So: Enjoy (You are a horrible person if you enjoy this btw)

Chapter 36: Darkness revealed

"Well... I guess this is goodbye then." Anzu said as she turned around to leave Kaiba's office.

No word had ever hurt him half as much as those. It felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest with an ice blade. Like the whole world had suddenly turned black. He just stood there, not knowing what he should do. He had long stopped pretending he didn't care about Anzu. However he had been more than content of not taking things any further than they needed. But now, If he did nothing he was going to lose her for good. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't bear the thought of it. She made him fell alive again. He couldn't remember ever feeling anywhere near as good as he felt when she was with him. Whenever she smiled at him, whenever she touched him, or kissed him, he couldn't even begin to put those feelings into words. Yet if he opened up to her...Trusting people had never brought him anything but pain and betrayal. He couldn't, he just couldn't trust her...

"I should have let her kill you." He said, in a icy tone of voice.

Anzu froze when she heard those words. Without thinking, she quickly turned around and raised her arm to slap him. However, Kaiba caught her wrist before she could even touch him. The moment she looked up at him, all her anger instantly turned to fear. The coldness of his eyes froze her blood. She should have known better than to raise to his provocation, especially in this situation, when Kaiba's mental state was uncertain...

"Let go of me." She said in what she hoped was a calm tone of voice.

"Make me." Was Kaiba's answer.

Despite herself, Anzu couldn't keep hiding her raising fear. The memories of the other night were still too fresh. She tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but it did little good to her cause. Seeing her quickly losing her confidence, Kaiba smirked down at her.

Anzu panicked when she saw the look in Kaiba's eyes, the same look he had that night. With her free hand she tried to pry his hand away from her wrist but before she could do anything useful he grabbed her other wrist and pushed her back against the wall.

Trapped, Anzu could do nothing but to stare up at him. "Seto...please..." She tried to plead with him, but she was at a loss as to what she should say. She didn't understand what was going on and had no idea what to do or what to expect.

Kaiba looked down at her for a few seconds, then, to Anzu's surprise, he swiftly closed the distance and kissed her. That was probably the last thing Anzu had expected and thus she offered little to no resistance as Kaiba deepened the kiss, the thought of stopping him never even crossed her mind. He was being rougher than usual, possessive, controlling...dangerous. Weirdly enough, Anzu could't help herself but to feel parts of her stirring and responding to Kaiba's actions. That's what brought her back to reality, this was wrong, so wrong.

She tried to turn her head away, but Kaiba let go of one of her arm and used his hand to tilt her head up. With her now free arm, Anzu tried to push him back, but he was too close for her to put any real strength in it. Anyway, it wouldn't have changed anything, there was just no way she could physically overpower him. Desperate to get away, Anzu did the last thing she could think of: she bit his lower lip as hard as she could.

Kaiba hissed and pulled back instantly. The flash of anger on his face scared the hell out of Anzu. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and raised her available arm to protect herself, bracing herself for whatever might come next. However, he didn't hit her. Anzu tensed up again when she felt him move, but he only rested his forehead against the wall, somewhere over her head. "You should go." He whispered as he let go of her other wrist.

Anzu didn't need to be told twice. Still shaking, she slipped away from him and quickly made for the door of the office. When she reached the door, she let out a breath she hadn't even known she was holding in. She had made it out somewhat unscathed, now she could leave, go back to her life and forget all of this mess. She looked back, Kaiba had let himself slide down with his back against the wall and was now sitting on the ground, looking away from her. Anzu could not help but think about how vulnerable he looked right now and how she was the one responsible for it. When she first tried to approach Kaiba, everyone tried to stop her. Warning her that she would only hurt them both. She hadn't listened, she had kept going, made her way into his life, through his walls and in his heart... But she wasn't strong enough to deal with what she found there, and now... "You're an idiot." She whispered to herself before closing the door.

Kaiba closed his eyes when he heard her leave. He told himself that it had been a mistake from the start, he never should have let her get anywhere this close to him that it didn't matter and he didn't care, knowing that eventually it would become the truth. His eyes snapped open when he heard the sound of someone sitting down next to him. He turned his head around and was stunned to see Anzu. Silently, without a word, she sat down next to him and rested her head against his chest.

"What are you doing?" Kaiba asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing slightly. Her actions confused him and he didn't know what to think anymore.

"I'm staying." Anzu answered, trying her best to hide her fear. Truth be told, she was still quite shaken up by the whole ordeal and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't afraid.

However, her discomfort didn't go unnoticed by Kaiba, who misinterpreted it. "Just leave me, I don't need your pity."

Anzu snorted. "All the pity in the world would not be enough to keep me here." The probably wasn't the right thing to say, Anzu could practically feel Kaiba frown. "Seto...What were you thinking when you put yourself between me and that woman?"

Unsure where this was going, Kaiba answered carefully. "I...wasn't thinking. I just had to protect you."

"Didn't the thought that you might die cross your mind? Weren't you afraid?"

"...Yes." Kaiba answered hesitantly.

"Then why did you still do it?"

"Because it didn't matter, so long as you were safe..."

Anzu smiled against him. "I'm not here because I pity you, nor because I feel responsible. I am afraid and lost, I know I might get hurt, all my common sense it telling me go get away from you and forget all of this. I tried to leave, but I can't, because I don't care about all of this. I care about you. We'll make it through this."

Slowly, making sure not to scare her, Kaiba put his arms around her. "What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?" He asked softly.

Anzu sighed. "You're a much better person then you give yourself credit for."

Kaiba gave no answer, but Anzu did feel the shift in Kaiba's mood. Telling her Kaiba was not convinced by her words. They stayed in silence after that. Kaiba was deep in thought, Anzu didn't know exactly what he was talking about, but she could follow his train of emotion by the way he was breathing, his heartbeat, the way his body would sometime tense or whenever he'd start stroking her arm or play with her hair.

Kaiba found himself wishing that this moment would never end. Right now, with Anzu laying against him, he felt at peace. But eventually he knew it would end, and reality would come back. Even though Anzu had said she'd stay with him...things just couldn't stay the way they were. He didn't want to hurt her again... For a moment, he considered leaving... but then what was the point of everything he did so far? No, he wanted to be with her. And even though he knew Anzu would stay, it wasn't right of him to make her go through all this without even understanding why.

No matter how much she cared for him, he knew that eventually it would become too much for her. In a few months...a year, five, or maybe more. He didn't know how long it would take, but one day, it would be too much for even her. And when that day would come, he could not blame her. He didn't want this. Aside from his brother, she was the first person who ever deeply cared for him and the only one he ever cared for. He had come too far to back out now. He cared too much already... He couldn't lose her now, nor ever, that meant that if he wanted things to work, he had no choice but to trust her.

"I wouldn't have let you stay that night... If I had known there was the slightest chance that that could have happened." Kaiba said after a long moment.

"It's ok..." Anzu said, shifting slightly so that she could look up at Kaiba's face.

"No it's not." Kaiba said. "I could have killed you...would have, if Mokuba hadn't stopped me."

"I know you didn't mean to." Anzu said.

"That still does no make it right... I'm sorry...for everything." He stayed silent for a few moments before he spoke again. "How much did Mokuba tell you?"

Anzu hesitated for a moment, not sure exactly where Kaiba was going with this question. "Not much... He said that sometime when you were younger you started having nightmare and that there were... minor accidents. That he thought everything you went through lately probably had something to do with it happening again now."

Kaiba frowned. "What else?"

Anzu hoped that she wasn't going to put Mokuba in trouble as she answered. She told him what Mokuba had told her, about how he changed after Gozaburo almost killed him, and how it esclated until the day Gozaburo died and until they met.

"It's not exactly how things happened... I don't expect you to understand everything...there are things you just can't understand unless you live it." Kaiba said, looking ahead. He took a deep breath, as if trying to put his thoughts in order.

"My mom died giving birth to Mokuba, my father died five years later...that much you know already. I don't know why, but our family sent us to an orphanage not long after. Mokuba was 5, cute and bright, he would have been adopted easily enough. But ten years old barely ever got adopted. Usually, they'd stay for a few months, then are moved from one foster family to another until they turn 18 and the government stops providing for them. It's the first thing you learn when you enter the orphanage. Gozaburo Kaiba was my only chance to avoid becoming a number in the system and have a life... Of course I had no idea what kind of man he was. In retrospective, a foster home doesn't seem that bad."

"Calling Gozaburo a monster is an understatement. I got my first beating mere hours after entering the mansion. It only went downhill from there. Gozaburo wanted a perfect heir, so everyday he 'trained' me, like I was a dog or something. He'd beat me whenever I gave a wrong answer, took too long to answer, didn't walk straight, had a tone in my voice he didn't like or just because he felt like it. Most of the time I didn't even know why. There are no words to tell you how it was. Living in constant pain and fear, never knowing when the next beating would come. Even at night, every once and a while when he'd had a bad day he'd take his frustration on me. The helplessness... I was only a kid, Gozaburo was way stronger than me. He could have snapped my neck any moment and there wasn't a single thing I could do to stop him."

Listening silently, Anzu took his hand into hers and squeezed lightly. She had known helplessness, when Kaiba had been chocking her and she had realized that there wasn't anything she could do to stop him. But that had been only a fleeting moment in her life. Living with that feeling for years like Kaiba had...Anzu wasn't sure she'd be able to take it. No, she knew she couldn't, she wasn't that strong. "But you made it through, for Mokuba." She said, she had always admired Kaiba for everything he did for his little brother.

However, Kaiba snorted as a darkness appeared in his eyes. "No...No amount of love, would ever make _anyone_ willingly go through that, no matter how strong they are. If I could have left, I would have, with or without Mokuba... and I did try."

To say that Anzu was shocked by Kaiba's words, and the coldness with which he said them, would be an understatement. She was totally unable to look away from Kaiba's eyes. She had never seen them so dull and lifeless before. Anzu wasn't sure if it was because he was trying to detach himself from his feelings of those time or if this _was_ what he had been feeling. She realized it was likely the first time he spoke about those times, after trying to forget it for so long.

"The truth is: I could not leave, Gozaburo would never had allowed it and there was no way I could ever hope to escape him. Telling myself it was all for Mokuba was nothing more than a way to try and cope with it. I needed all my suffering to have a meaning. But it didn't work for very long..."

Anzu didn't know what to say. It was like everything she thought she knew about Kaiba was a lie. That was when everything suddenly clicked together and she realized the real meaning of what Kaiba had said earlier. "What did you mean when you said that you _tried_ to leave..." She asked as she sat up straighter to look at him directly in the face.

Kaiba chuckled darkly when he saw that she was catching on. "Gozaburo was always a very careful and composed man, always in perfect control of every situation. Everything he did, he did it with utmost precision. I barely have any scar to show what he did to me. He never would have accidentally hurt me seriously enough to threaten my life unless he meant to kill me... and I wouldn't be here if he had."

Anzu felt as if the temperature suddenly dropped 10 degree. "You..."

"I tried to kill myself."


	37. Death

I appologize for the really long wait. Aside from final exam this was extremely hard to write. Each 100 words took me like two full hours to write because I spent so much time trying to find the right way for everything.

Chapter thirty seven: Death

Anzu stared at Kaiba, she was at a complete loss as to what she could possibly say. She knew nothing that would make things better. She did the only other thing she could think of: she hugged him. She knew that ten years later, such a gesture meant little, but she just didn't know what to do. She had lived a happy childhood, she had a loving family and was surrounded by friends, she never lacked of anything. She couldn't imagine the pain he had gone through nor how she could ever make it better. "I'm sorry." She whispered. She didn't even know exactly what for she was apologizing, maybe for not being there back then, or for not seeing the deepness of his suffering before now.

Despite everything, Kaiba couldn't help but smile lightly at Anzu's words. That was just so much like her, making apologies for things she had absolutely nothing to do with. Gently, he put his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. They stayed like that in silence for a few moments before Kaiba finally broke it. "Mokuba doesn't need to know about this..." He said. Despite his childish manner and innocent front, his brother already knew way more than he should. He did not want him to know exactly how much he had suffered, nor that he had actually tried to abandon him in such a way.

Kaiba continued. "Every day, I woke up sore from the beating of the day before, I had classes all day with personal tutors while Gozaburo was at work. When he came back at the end of the day, he would verify my progress. It was never enough, he was never satisfied no matter how hard I worked. Then he'd give me his own personal lesson... Everyday, all day long, I feared the time Gozaburo would come back home. That day...wasn't really special in any way. Nothing worst than usual had happened. I couldn't tell you why that day and not the one before or after. But on that morning, something snapped and I just couldn't go on anymore. I went to Roland...I knew he was different from everyone else, he cared."

"In a way I guess I trusted him... He had always been kind to me. I...begged him to help me, to get me out of there... to do something...anything."

"But he didn't..." Anzu finished for him. The bodyguard had admitted to that much on his own. "He was afraid." Anzu said, trying her best to defend him. "For his family." She knew it probably was of little comfort to Kaiba but it was the truth. She knew how much it had affected Roland.

"I know." Kaiba cut her off. "I've known all along, even back then. Deep down I always knew he couldn't help me, but it hurt nonetheless. As foolish as it had been, he was the last hope I had to cling to. After he turned me down...I found myself facing years of torture. I...I couldn't do it. I had nothing to go on and I didn't care anymore. I didn't even think about Mokuba and how he might suffer. I didn't have it in me to care about him anymore. In the evening, I broke the mirror in my bathroom and used a piece of it to cut open my wrists..." Anzu was surprised and a little worried when she saw a smile of Kaiba's face. "That small moment, just before I lost consciousness, I was at peace. For the first time in years I felt no pain and I was free. I was happier than I had ever been before...or since..."

"But you didn't die..." Anzu said. "What happened?"

Kaiba frowned. "A maid heard the noise... You can't even begin to imagine the utter despair I felt when I woke up and realized I was still alive." Kaiba snorted as he leaned his head back against the wall. "For a fleeting moment, I had the stupid childish hope that someone, one of the paramedics, a nurse or a doctor would blow a whistle after seeing a twelve years old covered in bruise trying to kill himself. The evening after I woke up, _he_ came to see me in the hospital. He hurt me, in a hospital...No one came to stop him, despite my yelling. The bastard said I was nothing but an ungrateful brat to thanks him like this after everything he did for me, he even made me apologize. He said...that I belonged to him and that only he had a right to decide on my life."

"The next morning, everyone, including the doctor and the nurses, all pretended not to see the fresh bruise on my body. They all knew, I could see the pity in their eyes, but none of them did anything. That's when I knew, no one was ever going to help me and I had missed the only chance I would ever get to end it all. I think whatever was left of the kid I once was died that day. I had nothing to live for, I didn't even want to be alive anymore but there was no way out. Afterward, I became detached from everything, I lost the ability to feel anything. I felt nothing anymore, neither fear, anger, hope, empathy...nothing. I became what Gozaburo wanted me to be, there was no point in fighting him anyway. Of course the change pleased Gozaburo. Feelings like trust, love or empathy were only obstacles and weaknesses for him. He didn't go any easier on me, still life became easier in a way."

"But...I didn't actually felt nothing, I just bottled up everything because to survive I couldn't afford to feel them, and quickly it became too much. That's when I started to lose it. It started only as nightmares, as if all my pain, anger and fear was leaking out when I was sleeping... One morning, when a maid tried to wake me up, I attacked her. There were a few other incidents like that. Then nightmares turned into daydreams. I started having black outs instead. At first they only lasted a moment, I'd snap out of it to find some piece of furniture broken on the ground. Sometimes I'd even hurt people. It is known that people who suffer violence often hurt become violent themselves. Passing on my pain on someone else was extremely satisfying, especially since I considered them responsible at some degree for my situation."

"Eventually, there were too many incidents for Gozaburo to ignore it so he had to call in a doctor before I could do something he wouldn't be able to quickly cover up. Basically he diagnosed me with psychosis associated with borderline psychopathic behaviour and a bunch of other things. I never actually heard the details nor cared much. Plain and simple Gozaburo's methods were taking their toll on my mind. I was put on medication, it helped with the outburst. But it didn't help with my general mental state. By that point, I was already pretty messed up. Of, Gozaburo saw this as a weakness on my part. He didn't slack on his 'training' methods, so I didn't improve with time... You've seen that first hand."

Kaiba hesitated for a few moments. Anzu could feel his uncertainty as he was thinking about how to continue. "Gozaburo's death made me, a very mentally deranged 15 years old, one of the most powerful man of the country. I know it may sound strange to you, but back then, I'd almost say that I was happy during those times. I was so far gone that I could barely feel anything anymore. I felt no attachment to anything nor anyone, didn't fear anything, felt no pity, empathy, love, guilt or anything like that. Life was like a game to me, I toyed with people's life for my own amusement."

"Then I met you and your friends." Kaiba continued. "I do wonder some times exactly what Yugi did to me. It felt as if my mind was reset. But, things didn't change. After all this time, I was unable to open up to people, or to even understand my own feelings... Old memories of my childhood that I thought I had forgotten have been haunting me again. I felt so much anger, toward the entire world for letting me down. From the first day, I think I've been slowly sinking again... Surviving all of this, I've never felt even once that it was worth it. But lately, with you...it goes against everything that has been beaten into me for years...against everything life taught me. It's absolutely terrifying but...with you... I've been having lots of nightmares lately. Some about you, some about him. Each about how all this would only hurt me more no matter what. With everything that happened lately. But I just couldn't give you up now... I guess it was just too much."

"I don't really have much of an answer for why it happened. I can't say if it will happen or not, if I'll get better or not. I have absolutely no idea... I might hurt you again...and next time there's no saying what will happen. I don't want to hurt you. I'm dangerous, Anzu. Even on a good day I'm still a borderline psychopath, I could hurt you at anytime just because I feel like it. You shouldn't stay with me." He said. However, Anzu didn't miss how his hold on her tightened slightly as he said the last part.

"I trust you." She said as she raised her head and kissed him on the cheek. "I told you, we'll find a way to make this work... I'll probably hurt you too eventually. It's a part of life. But when that happens, you just have to get up again and keep going." She laid back against him, thinking about everything she had learned. She had always known that Kaiba's step dad had been a monster. But she had never suspected just how deep it went. She was unsure of what would happened next. But there was one thing she knew for sure: she cared deeply for Kaiba and wouldn't abandon him like the rest of the world had. She knew that deep down he was a good person. She had seen it. She only hoped that one day he'd finally be happy and feel like his life had been worth living.


	38. The path forward part 1

(I don't actually have much to say) So, I don't do that often, but text in italic means flashback (yay, flashback XD)

Chapter 38: The path forward. (part 1)

Kaiba absentmindedly took a sip of sip of his black coffee as he stared out the windows at the raising sun. It had been an exhausting night for him. He had taken Anzu to his own room after she had fallen asleep and he took his little brother's, not wanting to risk hurting her again. However he hadn't been able to sleep, too many memories and emotions kept coming back to him as soon as he closed his eyes. He has spent almost ten years trying to forget those times, acting like it was nothing. But now that he had forced himself to open back to old wounds, he realized just how much it had affected him. How much he had suffered and how much of himself he had lost on the way.

Yet, at the same time, he felt oddly calm over the whole matter. It was a strange feeling, nothing had actually changed, his past would remain the same but he felt lighter...liberated. He had been living with the pain for so long it had practically became a part of him, he was so accustomed to it that he stopped questioning it's existence and lived with it as it slowly destroyed him. But Anzu had made him aware of it again and then forced him to face it, taking some of the weight on her own shoulder. For the first time in years, he felt like there was something in front of him, like he could actually live his life instead of going through it because it was there. All he had to do was take this chance...However...

Kaiba sighed as he put the empty cup down on the table, he stood up and went to his room. He stopped at the door and watched Anzu as she slept. He wanted to walk in, go to her and just hold her close to him forever...But he turned around and left. Silently he put on his jacket, check that he had his wallet and his keys and made his way down the door of the apartment and into his office. As he reached out for the door of his office someone called out to him.

"I had a feeling you'd try and run away."

Startled, Kaiba turned around and saw his little brother, sitting behind his desk, smirking. "Mokuba? What are you doing here?"

Mokuba sighed. "Seriously Seto, why do you keep screwing everything up? You've just basically opened your whole heart to her, why are you turning away again now?"

"That's not what it is." Kaiba replied weakly

"Then why are you sneaking out at 6 in the morning? Seto, why are you denying yourself happiness? You like her, you want to be with her so why the hell do you keep turning your back to her?"

"It's complicated."

"No it's not!"

"She deserves better than someone like me."

Mokuba laughed. "For a self-centered egoistical jerk you are being unusually selfless on this one." The teen answered. "Shouldn't it be the other way around? After all, _you_ are the ridiculously rich handsome genius."

Kaiba frowned but gave no answer and turned around to leave.

"Or is it because you killed Gozaburo? Is that why you think you don't deserve to be with her?"

Kaiba froze dead in his track, slowly, he turned around and stared at his brother with wide eyes.

Mokuba smiled sadly. "Yes, I know what happened that night...I often sneaked out of my room when Gozaburo was giving you personnal 'lessons'. I thought I was responsible for all the pain he was putting you through so whenever I could I'd sneak out and force myself to listen. I considered it my punishment. I'm sure Gozaburo knew, and actually enjoyed knowing that I was there. Usually I stayed far enough not to be noticed, but when I heard him yell, I knew something was wrong and decided to check it out. When I arrived I saw Roland drag you out of the room, your hands were covered in blood."

"You really saw that?" He asked, a mixture of pain and sorrow on his face.

Mokuba nodded. "But...you didn't kill him, Seto."

Kaiba frowned. "What are you talking about."

"Roland came back into the office and...I heard _him_. Gozaburo...I was too far away to understand but I heard them argue, he was yelling. Then there was a gunshot... I got scared and ran back to my room."

* * *

The corridors were almost completely deserted as Kaiba strode through them in a fast pace. It was still early so barely anyone was in the building but he knew that _he_ would already be there and he knew exactly where to find him at this time. The few maintenance worker and security guard he crossed on his way hurried out of his path as if simply being in his way would cost them their jobs. Considering his mood, it was very probable. He was beyond mad, amongst other things, he wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling but anger was definitely one of them...

"_That's the best you could come up with in my absence?"_

_He stayed silent, he had learned long ago that there was no right answer to give. Nothing he did would ever be enough, it was best to endure silently than try and protest._

"_All those years, the best tutors and all the money I invested and that's what I get. You are nothing but a disappointment, perhaps I should have chosen your brother as my heir."_

_Once again he gave no answer. There was a time when he would have been enraged by the thought of the man even looking in his brother's general direction. But those were other times, when he was someone else. This was actually a day like any other, his step father would insult his work, try to bait him with some insult or treat, then he'd get annoyed by his lack of reaction and would beat him a little for good measure. He knew what would happen if he dared to talk back._

_When the first hit came, he didn't do anything to block it. That would have been a mistake. Still he doubled over in pain when Gozaburo punched him in the stomach. Although he couldn't breath he forced himself back to his feet. Being on the ground exposed him to being kicked, he had learned quickly that kicks hurt more than punches. Some more insults followed, accompanied by another hit. He grit his teeth in pain but otherwise stayed silent. This was just foreplay, a little game his step-dad liked to play with him, although the rules of the game were ever changing depending on the older man's mood._

_He endured every word and hit silently, knowing that if he held on long enough, Gozaburo would eventually (hopefully) get bored and leave. However, when Gozaburo tried to punch him in the stomach for a third time, he couldn't stop himself and blocked him. He almost cursed himself, he saw the faked frowned of disappointment on his step-father's face, but more so the satisfaction in his eyes. He knew he had lost._

Without warning, Kaiba barged into the main security room, where Roland was meeting with the various teams leader in the security department. Instantly, as they were trained to, all of them were halfway up with their hand on their weapon. But they stopped dead in their track as they saw exactly who was standing before them.

_Before he could brace himself, Gozaburo kneed him in the stomach and he fell to the ground. Quickly, the man pulled up up by his hair and pushed him down on his desk, twisting one of his arm behind his back until he yelled out in pain. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Gozaburo's paperweight not too far away, it was made from solid stone. For a fleeting second, the thought of grabbing the object crossed his mind. He could use it to defend himself, to get away from Gozaburo... but for what? He'd never make it out of the mansion and Gozaburo would make him pay, it wasn't worth it._

"_SETO, STOP!"_

"Everyone, out. Now!" Kaiba ordered while glaring at Roland, indicating that he was to stay.

_Suddenly, his arm was free, but something was pulling him back by his neck and his other arm. He blinked and what he saw froze him on the spot. Gozaburo was on the ground, there was blood on his face and on the ground around his head. He felt a heavy weight in the hand that was being restricted, he looked up at it and saw the paperweight in his hand, both covered in blood. Stupefied, he dropped it to the ground, and turned his gaze back to the inanimate body of his step-father. His eyes widened and his breathing became erratic as he slowly realized what he had done._

_He was turned around and absentmindedly noted that Roland was calling out his name. However, he couldn't make out the words, he couldn't stop staring at his hands. Roland grabbed his hand and pulled him behind him out of the office and to his bedroom. Roland dragged him to his adjacent bathroom, let go of him and walked back to the bedroom. He turned his head and saw his reflexion in the mirror, he had speckles of blood on his clothes and face. He stayed there, fascinated by this reflexion until Roland came back with a fresh set of clothes in his hand, he set the clothes on the counter and spoke. Although still in a daze, he understood what was expected of him and stripped out of his blood stained clothes before going into the shower. He noticed that Roland picked up his clothes before leaving._

Everyone but Roland quickly grabbed their belonging and left, some giving Roland short curious or worried look before leaving, wondering what their Roland might have done to anger Kaiba that much. Roland himself actually looked a little paler than usual, he clearly wasn't used to be on the receiving end of Kaiba's anger.

_At first he only stared as the blood quickly washed away from his hands. Suddenly, out of habit, he was taken over by fear of what Gozaburo would do to him for that...but then, he realized how stupid that thought was. He couldn't believe it...had he really did that? He didn't even remember, one moment he was being pinned down...and the next... Had it really been this easy? Just like that, his step-father was gone...He started to chuckle. All those years of pain, it was all over now, he was gone, he'd never hurt him again. His chuckle turned into a full laugh. He was free. _

"You lied to me." Kaiba accused him once they were alone, glaring daggers at his chief of security. He couldn't remember ever being so mad yet he didn't even fully understand why he was so man, which only aggravated him further.

Roland raised an eyebrow in confusion. "...Exactly what are we talking about?"

"You killed him!" He yelled, his voice almost cracking.

The bodyguard frowned, he had rarely seen his boss in such a state and wasn't sure exactly what was going on. "Seto, calm down. What are y-

"Gozaburo!" Kaiba cut him off, clenching his hands into fist to stop them from shaking. "Mokuba heard you arguing with him _after_ you took me away."

Roland stared wide eyed at him. "...Mokuba?" He sighed as he averted his eyes, he passed his hand through his hair before saying. "He was going to kill you...I took his gun from him...and made it look like he killed himself."

Kaiba felt as if a weight suddenly appeared in his stomach as he heard Roland confess. "All this time... you let me believe that I did it." Kaiba said, his voice suddenly sounding dangerously calm in contrast to his apparent fury.

Roland had the decency to look ashamed as he tried to explain himself. "If I had told you the truth, you would have used it against me."

Kaiba clenched his teeth as he burned holes in the older man. Deep down, he knew that the guards words were true, he's past self would have used the knowledge to make him pay for not helping him. Yet that only served to add more anger to all his conflicting emotions. "Get out of my sight." He said through his teeth.

Roland stood up and came closer to him. "Seto, listen..." He started to say, as he tried to put a hand on Kaiba's shoulder, trying to fix this. But Kaiba slapped his arm away.

The CEO looked at him with the coldest eyes Roland had ever seen. When he told him again to get lost, the bodyguard figured that insisting further would be dangerous and left.

* * *

God finally, After months of trying to decide how I wanted this to go I've finally managed to find just the perfect and most awesome way ever. Usually it should have been only one chapter, but it turned out longer than I expected. However, now that I've finally figured out what I was going to do, it's going to be a lot easier.


	39. The path forward Part 2

Chapter 39: The path forward (Part 2)

He didn't know how long he stayed in the meeting room after Roland left. His anger had subsided somewhat, thanks to the sacrifice of a few computers and expensive pieces of equipment, but it had quickly been replaced by confusing mix of conflicting emotions. He stayed in the room, simply staring at the ceiling for a long while, his mind simply overwhelmed by everything. It was so much he didn't even know where to start trying to make sense of it all.

He was practically mad with anger, that much he could tell, anger had been such permanent presence in his life he had no trouble figuring that one out. He was enraged at Roland for not telling him the truth before. For years he had lived with the memory of this night, the sight of his step father, the feeling of the blood cooling down on his hands, the constant fear of being found out. He hated Gozaburo with a passion. He often dreamed of killing him, imagined different ways of doing so and prayed more than once for his death. But he had never acted on it, thinking about killing someone and actually doing it were two absolutely different things. The action in itself had been ridiculously easy, it had been over before he even realized what was going on. The hard part was reliving the memory over and over again for the rest of your life, knowing you had taken a human life with your own hands, that you had it in you to do such a thing. There was no going back after it, no possible way to amend for such a thing. For years he had felt 'dirty', unable to wash away the guilt, no matter how he told himself that Gozaburo had deserved it a thousand times. Roland had let him endure that for years without ever saying anything.

He couldn't argue with Roland's reasons for not telling him the truth. Back then, Roland didn't hold a very good spot in his heart. After his bodyguard had refused to help him, he had considered him partially responsible for all his pain. Roland was actually high on the list of people he wanted to make pay for not helping him and he had made that fact very clear to his bodyguard more than once. After Gozaburo's death, he had taken great pleasure in slowly and utterly destroying the lives of everyone he could think of who played a role in his 'upbringing' or simply stood by without helping him.

Roland was the only one who escaped his wrath. He was the one who settled the whole thing, he arranged the scene to make it look like a suicide and handled the cover up on his own, throwing money to the right people to make sure any anomaly found on the scene never saw the light of day. He had no way of knowing exactly what kind of evidence there was nor what Roland did to them. The man was smart and extremely ressourcefull, he wouldn't have such an important position if he wasn't. Kaiba had feared that if he moved against Roland, his bodyguard would drag him down with him so he hadn't dare to go through with it. Yet, the swing went both way, he knew that if he was ever found out, Roland would go down with him as an accomplice. Completely unable of trust, he had based his entire relationship with Roland on that one fact alone: Roland _could not_ betray him, making him extremely valuable and easy to control. But the entire foundation of this relationship had been a lie. Roland hadn't covered up for him, he did so for himself and let him believe otherwise to protect himself.

Even worst was the thought that, in the end, it was Roland, who had stood there watching silently as Gozaburo slowly beat him into insanity for years, that put an end to it all... Roland had waited for years, ignoring his pleas for help until there was nothing left of him to save before making his he had it in him to kill the bastard, why couldn't he do it a day sooner? A week? A month? A year? It made all of his pain and suffering seem even more useless. What if he hadn't lost it and attacked Gozaburo? Would he have kept on watching?

Weirdly enough, there was actually a part of him that was angry at Roland for taking away the satisfaction that killing Gozaburo had brought him. Despite the never ending nightmares and guilt, a part of him had actually felt satisfaction in knowing he had killed him, that he had gotten his revenge.

Now...he didn't know what to think or do anymore. What had happened that night, it had changed him deeply and defined most of what he was today... and it was all a lie. If Roland had only told him the truth, things might have turned out differently. He might have gotten the help he needed back there (even though he wouldn't have wanted it), he could have healed somewhat, maybe even be happy in the end. Now, all those years he spent in the dark, harassed by the belief that he had killed someone, suddenly became meaningless. All his pain had not even been real...

He was tired, so very tired of trying to keep going forward, to try and make sense of everything that happened to him. What for? He had nothing, never had anything. Everyone took everything away from him so long ago. He had kept going because what other choice did he have? He had been forced to endured so much, now that he had made it through (even if he had gave up any will to live long ago) it would have been pointless to stop there. So he had kept on going, simply because killing himself now would really be pointless. Maybe, in a way, he had tried to make sense of it all, find a reason to keep living, make it all worthwhile. But that hadn't been the case. There was just no logic in it, no greater design, no reward for making it through and no light at the end of it all. And after all of this, he spent half his life bearing the guilt of something he hadn't even done. He had had way more than enough...

So then...what now?

* * *

Anzu had been slightly annoyed when she woke up and found that Kaiba had left the apartment, although she couldn't say that she was surprised. The former CEO had a habit of running away from her after opening up and last night had been something. In a way, she was kind of glad to have some time alone to ponder over the whole ordeal. Kaiba had shared with her things he had never told anyone, even Mokuba didn't know most of the things Kaiba confided to her. And she wasn't sure what to do with that knowledge, she wasn't sure if there was something she could do. She had always thought of Kaiba as one of the strongest people she knew for making it through everything life threw at him and coming out on top of it all. But that wasn't the case, he had been tied down and forcefully dragged through all of it long after he gave up the will of fighting, even after he lost the will to live altogether. To the point where even now, almost ten years later, that will had not came back.

She wasn't sure if there was even a way to recover from such a thing. His past had been slowly suffocating him from the inside for years. She had thought that she could help him. But, he was starting to lose it, she could see it, he wasn't able to deal with all those emotions face on. She actually feared that by trying to help him, she had only hastened his path of destruction. She was afraid, for herself, for him and for everyone around him.

She signed as she poured herself some of Kaiba's left over coffee, somewhat reassured that the brunet wasn't in such a hurry to leave that he took the time to make coffee...and that he was still functional enough to actually make it. She heard the door of the apartment opening and closing and wondered who it would be, not many people had access to this place. Her interrogations quickly turned to a pleased surprised when she turned around and saw Kaiba standing behind her in the entrance of the kitchen.

"You're still here." She said, smiling. "For a moment I was afraid I'd have to go all the way back to Japan to find you."

Without answering, Kaiba closed the distance between them and pulled her tightly against him as he kissed her. Anzu could feel instantly that something was...different. For the first time, she felt no hesitation, no holding back from him. She felt that, right now, she was the only thing on his mind and it was unsettling. Usually, whenever he was with her, he was usually on his guard and hesitant or acted defiantly, as if he was rebelling against something. But right now he was with her and her alone. She couldn't help but push away slightly to ask if he was alright. When She looked up at him, he was smiling lightly. She could see on his face and in his eyes just how tired and confused he was at that moment, yet, below all of that, for the first time, he appeared to be at peace.

"Probably not." He said, chuckling lightly before kissing her again. "But better than I've been in a while."

* * *

So, what's behind this strange switch with Kaiba. Actually, I had hoped to make this longer and go a little farther into things. However, the school year caught up with me and unfortunately I'm left with very little time to myself.

That being said, I have an **IMPORTANT ANNONCEMENT**: I have my certification examination coming up in less than 3 months (you know, those freakishly long 600 questions exam that decide if you get your diploma or not) This, adding to the fact that all my classes are now exclusively trainning courses that span from like 7:30 am to 6pm with addition of evenings and weekend shift. I am currently either at school, studying for my certification or sleeping. Therefore, I will not be updating again before my exam, which is at the end of november. Don't worry, I WILL finish this story, but right now, I need to concentrate my energy elsewhere.


End file.
